Gold's Climb Adds Momentum to Year-End Rally

Gold last traded at $1,915 an ounce. Silver at $27.20 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: Precious metal prices steadied Thursday as upbeat data boosted the dollar. U.S. stocks hit all-time highs as Congress confirmed the election of Joe Biden as president and traders looked past the unrest in Washington.

WALL STREET JOURNAL--"Investors are pouring back into gold, lured by a weak U.S. dollar and surging Covid-19 infections that are muddling the outlook for a swift global economic recovery.

Most actively traded gold futures for February delivery climbed more than 3% in the first two trading sessions of the year, settling at $1,954.40 a troy ounce Tuesday. The gains add further momentum to the haven metal's year-end rally, with cautious investors piling into a variety of precious metals, including silver and platinum.

Gold posted its best annual performance in a decade in 2020, climbing more than 24%, though it remains well below the record $2,069.50 hit in August. It retreated later in the year, when investors shifted into riskier assets like stocks, expecting vaccines to fuel a broad economic rebound. However, growing worries in the new year about a new strain of the coronavirus in Europe and the U.K. have boosted the appeal of havens including gold in recent sessions.

A falling U.S. dollar has also lifted the metal. Since gold is bought and sold with dollars, a weaker dollar makes gold cheaper for foreign investors. Wall Street firms, including Goldman Sachs, broadly predict the dollar will tumble in 2021, dragged on by negative real yields - or the return on bonds when adjusting for inflation - with the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates at record-low levels....

'A Democratic sweep would mean control of the Senate and would almost certainly result in much larger stimulus packages this year, which would be very good for gold,' said Tai Wong, head of base and precious metals derivatives trading at Bank of Montreal....

Silver prices also posted strong gains to start the year, rising around 1% Tuesday. Silver, which is also used in industrial products such as electronics, notched a 47% gain in 2020, buoyed both by demand for precious metals and signs of improvement in the manufacturing sector."