20/01/2021
Al-Eqtisadiah from Riyadh
Gold prices rose today, as the dollar retreated after Janet Yellen, a candidate for the position of US Treasury Secretary, stressed the need for a major stimulus to help the economy recover from the Coronavirus crisis, which boosted the demand for the yellow metal as a hedging tool, according to "Reuters".
Spot gold gained 0.6 percent to $ 1850.66 an ounce by 0604 GMT. US gold futures added 0.5 percent to $ 1,850.
On Tuesday, Yellen urged policymakers to approve large spending on aid to mitigate the repercussions of the Corona pandemic, adding that the benefits will outweigh the costs of a larger debt burden.
The dollar fell further from a four-week high it reached earlier this week, while most US Treasury bond yields declined after Yellen called for the cancellation of large corporate tax cuts introduced in 2017.
Lower yields reduce the opportunity cost of holding the zero-yielding precious metal.
The US President Joe Biden's $ 1.9 trillion stimulus package plan will be in focus after he is sworn in today, while attention will also focus on the pace of distribution of vaccines against Covid-19, which has killed 400,000 in the country.
As for the other precious metals, silver rose 0.8 percent to $ 25.40 an ounce. Platinum rose 1.1 percent to $ 1,095.13, and palladium’s profit rose 0.6 per cent to $ 2,367.29.
