Gold prices poised to settle at a 2-month high as COVID's rise rattles market

Gold last traded at $1,780 an ounce. Silver at $26.04 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: Precious metal prices eased back Thursday on upbeat economic data and a firmer dollar. U.S. stocks dipped as investors turned a blind eye to solid earnings and economic data.

Marketwatch--"Gold prices headed higher for a second session on Wednesday, on track to mark their highest settlement in about two months.

A rise in cases of COVID-19 from more transmissible variants, especially in Asia and Latin America, threatens the world's economic rebound from the pandemic, boosting the precious metal's appeal as a investment haven....

'Nominal yields have been on a downward trajectory since the beginning of the second quarter, as has the U.S. Dollar Index,' said Ross Norman, chief executive officer at Metals Daily. 'Yields remain the key factor.'

Notably, India recorded over 250,000 new infections and over 1,700 deaths in the past 24 hours, and the U.K. announced a travel ban on most visitors from the country this week, the Associated Press reported....Precious metals are seen as a haven against uncertainty wrought by COVID....

Meanwhile, 'demand from price sensitive Asia remains robust, with gold trading at a $10 premium in Shanghai over [local] London prices,' Ross told MarketWatch.

'Physical demand for coins and bars in Europe remains hot with premiums remaining elevated,' he said. And 'perhaps most encouragingly, the selling by institutions of the gold exchange-traded fund has abated while central bank demand has re-emerged.'

'In short, gold looks set for a successful retest of resistance at $1,800, but it remains to be seen how high it can go before the Asian demand peters out and the market flatlines again,' Ross said."