By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Gold was down on Wednesday morning in Asia over a strengthening dollar and fading hopes of the U.S. Congress passing the latest stimulus measures before the country’s presidential election.
Gold futures edged down 0.14% at $1,909.30 by 12:30 AM ET (4:30 AM GMT), remaining above the $1,900 mark. The dollar was up on Wednesday.
President Donald Trump admitted that the measures were not likely to be passed before the Nov. 3 election, now less than a week away, as the chasm between the Republicans and Democrats over the measures’ price tag remains.
Data released on Tuesday also added to concerns over U.S. economic health. The Conference Board (CB) Consumer Confidence index fell to 100.9 in October, lower than the 102 predicted in forecasts prepared by Investing.com and the previous month’s reading of 101.3. More data, including the third-quarter GDP, is due to be released on Thursday
Across the Atlantic, a second wave of COVID-19 cases continues, and the numbers continue to rise. French president Emmanuel Macron will address his nation, which has recorded the highest number of deaths from the virus since April in a televised speech later in the day. Macron is expected to announce the re-implementation of a national lockdown to begin on Thursday. Elsewhere in Europe, Italy recorded a record number of cases.
John Berrigan, head of the European Commission's financial services unit, said on Tuesday that the U.K. must indicate how far it will diverge from European Union (EU) regulations if it wants access to the EU financial market from January. Berrigan also requested more clarification on the U.K.’s intentions to work out what is an “acceptable level” of divergence.
A recovery in demand saw China’s net gold imports surge to a six-month high in September as an uptick in economic activity increased demand in the world’s top consumer of the yellow metal. Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust (P:GLD) rose 0.23% to 1,266.72 tons on Tuesday, data showed.