Gold Pushes to a Fresh 9-Year $1857 High on Weak US Dollar COMMODITIES: Gold Pushes to a Fresh Nine-Year High on Weak Dollar, Silver Also Climbing
09:09 AM EDT, 07/22/2020 (MT Newswires) -- Gold rose to a fresh nine-year high early on Wednesday as the U.S. dollar dropped to a two-year low and on fresh geopolitical tensions between the United States and China.
Gold for August delivery was last seen up US$13.70 to US$1,857.60 per ounce in Comex electronic trade.
The price of the precious metal has surged as economic stimulus measures weaken currencies while low interest rates make the metal competitive against securities that offer a yield. The U.S. dollar is trading at the lowest in nearly two years, making the metal more affordable for international buyers. The ICE dollar index, which measures the greenback against a six-currency basket, was last seen down 0.27 to 94.85 points, near the lowest since September, 2018.
International tension are also on the rise as the United States forced the sudden closure of China's consulate in Houston as relations between the two countries continue to deteriorate.
Silver has also benefited from the same factors that have boosted gold. September silver was last seen uo US$1.40 to US$22.96 per ounce, a six-year high.
"Gold and above all silver have built up huge momentum recently; this is likely to have been increased by technical and speculative buying after prices exceeded historic thresholds. This is presumably thanks to the massive support programmes rolled out by central banks and governments," Commerzbank analyst Daniel Briesemann said in a release.