Gold Heads for First Weekly Drop in Three as Stimulus in Focus

Gold headed for a weekly decline, snapping two straight weeks of gains, as investors weighed the outlook for fresh U.S. stimulus.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Thursday that President Donald Trump will personally lobby to get reluctant Senate Republicans behind any stimulus deal they reach.

Trump said he‘s willing to go beyond the $1.8 trillion offer for a virus relief plan that’s already been offered by the administration, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rejected that, saying GOP lawmakers wont go along.

Golds been trading in a narrow range so far in October amid uncertainty surrounding the prospects of a stimulus deal being passed before the Nov. 3 presidential election. The International Monetary Fund has said that more public spending will be needed to complete the economic recovery from coronavirus.

Spot gold was steady at $1,907.34 an ounce at 7:48 a.m. in Singapore, and was 1.2% lower this week. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.

In other precious metals, spot silver dropped 0.2%, platinum rose 0.2% and palladium was steady.