21/07/2020
Al-Iqtisadiah from Riyadh
Gold prices jumped during trading yesterday to their highest levels in nearly nine years, while silver recorded the highest level in four years after the high rise in the number of cases of Covid-19 and the growth of hopes for more stimulus measures, to increase the demand for safe investment havens.
According to "Reuters", by 16:00 GMT, the price of gold in spot transactions was up 0.4 percent at $ 1816.10 an ounce after touching earlier $ 1820.06, the highest level since September 2011.
Silver jumped 2.4 percent to $ 19.76 an ounce, after hitting the highest level since September 2016 at $ 19.81 as flows to safe havens increased.
In addition, the euro jumped to its highest level in four months against the dollar yesterday, supported by positive results from the meeting of European leaders to jointly borrow to help their economies.
According to "Reuters", the euro advanced 0.2 percent to $ 1.1452, after rising to $ 1.14555, its highest level since March.
"The euro may look for a new trading range, perhaps $ 1.14 - $ 1.16, instead of the $ 1.11 - $ 1.14 range that has been needed for a while," said Kiyosuke Suzuki, director of foreign exchange at Societe Generale
The dollar index settled at 95.948, as the strong appetite for risk for investors prevented the currency from appreciating, amid bets for more stimulus, not only from Europe but also from the United States.
The pound fell 0.2 percent to hit $ 1.2541, while the Australian dollar fell 0.10 percent to $ 0.6987. The Japanese yen fell 0.2 percent to 107.29 yen to the dollar.
The currency was not affected by data showing Japan's exports tumbled 26 percent in June, compared to a year earlier, in a worse-than-expected reading.
And the Chinese yuan settled in foreign transactions at 6.9853 to the dollar, in just a slight decline from the peak of four months recorded last week when it reached 6.9806.
