Gold eased on Friday, but was on track to post its third consecutive weekly gain on growing expectations for additional stimulus measures in the United States.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot
gold fell 0.2% to $1,881.65 per ounce by 0107 GMT, but was up 2.3% so far this week. U.S.
gold futures dipped 0.1% to $1,887.90.
* U.S. Congressional Republicans and Democrats scrambled to pass a new round of coronavirus aid on Thursday with lawmakers from both parties saying that failure to agree was no longer an option.
* An unrelenting U.S. coronavirus surge pushed hospitals further to their limits as the United States pressed on with its immunization rollouts and prepared to ship nearly six million doses of a new vaccine on the cusp of winning regulatory approval.
* A panel of outside advisers to a U.S. regulator overwhelmingly endorsed emergency use of Moderna Inc’s coronavirus vaccine.
* U.S. weekly initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose last week.
* The Bank of Japan is expected to extend on Friday a package of steps aimed at easing corporate funding strains caused by the coronavirus.
* British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office said trade talks with the European Union were in a “serious situation” and that no agreement would be reached unless the bloc changed its position substantially.
* Awaiting the outcome of EU and UK trade talks, the Bank of England kept its stimulus unchanged on Thursday.
* Holdings in the SPDR
Gold Trust , the world’s largest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 0.2% to 1,167.82 tonnes on Thursday.
* Silver slipped 1% to $25.79 per ounce an ounce. Platinum dropped 0.8% to $1,035.91 and palladium fell 0.2% to $2,335.04.
DATA AHEAD(GMT) 0700 Germany Nov. Producer Prices 0700 UK Nov. Retail Sales N/A Bank of Japan rate decision
