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Gold futures on Monday were under selling pressure as a rollout of the experimental coronavirus cure began in the U.S. and as some uncertainty centered on another round of COVID-19 relief aid out of Congress hurt the yellow metal’s bullish thesis.
However, weakness in the dollar, off 0.5%, as measured by the ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, -0.56%, was capping downside for bullion and other precious metals priced in the U.S. unit.
Gold’s slide comes ahead of the last meeting of the Federal Reserve, which could also serve as a catalyst for commodities and financial markets broadly.
“Gold is struggling again today and broken back below $1,830 this morning where it had been seeing some support over the last week or so,” wrote Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, in a daily note.
“We could see more downside over the next couple of days, at which point we may have a better idea of what Congress and the Fed have in store, both of which could be very bullish factors for the yellow metal,” he wrote.
February gold GCG21, -0.61% was off $13.50, or 0.7%, at $1,830.10 an ounce, following a 0.2% weekly gain for bullion put in on Friday.
March silver SIH21, +0.28% traded up by a penny, less than 0.1%, at $24.10 an ounce, following a weekly skid of 0.7%.
Pfizer Inc. PFE, -1.46% over the weekend began shipping the vaccine it created with German partner BioNTech SE BNTX, -1.73%, after the Food and Drug Administration late Friday granted emergency authorization for its use in the U.S.
Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported that Senate and House lawmakers are nearing a compromise on coronavirus fiscal aid that strips out $160 billion of state and local aid and liability protections into a separate package, to achieve a deal before year-end. There are still doubts about a pact coming to fruition.
Investors also are watching Brexit developments after U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed on Sunday to scrap a deadline and go “the extra mile” to reach a post-Brexit trade deal.
