Gold pirces linger below $1,900 as dollar holds firm on stimulus hopes

Gold prices lingered below the key $1,900/ounce psychological level as lack of an agreement on additional US fiscal stimulus helped the dollar stay firm

(Reuters) - Gold prices lingered below the key $1,900/ounce psychological level on Wednesday as lack of an agreement on additional U.S. fiscal stimulus helped the dollar stay firm.

 

FUNDAMENTALS

Spot gold was little changed at $1,892.80 per ounce by 0053 GMT, after declining 1.6% in the previous session.

U.S. gold futures were steady at $1,896.60.

The dollar index was steady after bouncing off a three-week low on Tuesday.

Hopes for a new coronavirus relief package were dented as U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected a $1.8 trillion proposal from the White House, saying it "falls significantly short of what this pandemic and deep recession demand."

 

Global finance leaders on Tuesday said the world economy had escaped a coronavirus-triggered collapse so far, but warned that failure to conquer the pandemic, maintain stimulus and tackle mounting debt among poor nations could crush a fragile recovery.

Expectations for a COVID-19 vaccine took backseat after Johnson & Johnson and Eli Lilly and Co paused vaccine trials.

Asian equities were set to slip on Wednesday as halted vaccine trials and an elusive U.S. stimulus agreement weighed on investor sentiment.

U.S. consumer prices increased for a fourth straight month in September, with the cost of cars and trucks rising by the most since 1969, but inflation is slowing amid excess capacity in the economy as it gradually recovers from the COVID-19 recession.

Silver rose 0.2% to $24.22 per ounce, platinum was up 0.5% at $869.05, and palladium gained 0.6% to $2,329.97.

 

(Reporting by Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)