By Barani Krishnan
Investing.com - Gold prices rose for a second straight day and week on Friday, returning above the key $1,900 level, as revived hopes for a new U.S. Covid-19 relief bills brought a rush of bids for the haven.
U.S. gold for December delivery settled at $1,926.20 an ounce on New York’s Comex, up $31.10, or 1.6%, on the day. For the week, it rose about 1%.
Spot gold, which reflects real-time trades in bullion, was up $34.35, or 1.8%, at $1,928.31 by 3:58 PM ET (19:58 GMT).
“Gold prices skyrocketed … after the White House blinked first over the stimulus deadlock,” said Ed Moya, analyst at New York’s OANDA. “Gold looks like it will benefit from a stimulus deal before the election. It is unclear if Democrats will accept the latest … offer, but it seems the White House is determined to get something done.”
Trump told a radio show on Friday that he wants a new and bigger coronavirus relief package approved for Americans than what was negotiated previously in Congress, an apparent U-turn from just days ago when he ordered such talks canceled.
"I'd like to see a bigger stimulus package than either the Republicans or Democrats are offering," the president told the Rush Limbaugh radio show referring to both his party as well as the opposition. "I'd like to see money going to people."
Earlier this week, Trump shocked the nation and caused the stock market to plunge by announcing that he was terminating negotiations for a new COVID-19 stimulus. He blamed House Speaker and leader of the Democrats in Congress Nancy Pelosi for the aborted talks, saying she demanded an outsized $2.4 trillion package versus the $1.6 trillion offered by the Republicans. Pelosi didn’t respond directly to the accusation and questioned instead the mental capacity of the president, who was still on drugs for his own Covid-19 infection.
The stimulus talks appeared back on track Friday after White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow told Fox Business that Trump had approved a revised package to negotiate with Democrats. The Wall Street Journal later reported that the White House was working on an $1.8b trillion package, citing people familiar with the discussions.