The price of gold slightly traded in a negative trend on Monday morning amid news that the drug against coronavirus infection is actively being prepared for implementation. It is gradually being approved for mass use in countries around the world, which can serve as an impetus for universal vaccination. This in turn forces investors to change the vector of their interest. Now more risky sectors are taking the place of reliable and protective assets. Gold on this background ceases to look as positive as it was before. However, while the fall in the precious metals market is quite restrained, which does not allow us to talk about the formation of a new negative trend, but indicates a slight decrease in demand for precious metals, and not all of them.
The price of gold futures contracts for February delivery on the trading floor in New York fell by 0.31% or $5.7, which sent it to $1,837.85 per troy ounce.
The price of silver futures contracts for March delivery also went down by 0.33%. Its current level is still $24.015 per troy ounce.
The price of palladium fell 0.34% in the morning and reached $2,310.63 an ounce.
On the other hand, the price of platinum increased by 0.5%, which allowed the metal to move up to $1,013.98 per ounce. The main pressure on precious metals today comes from news about the active introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine. Yesterday, it became known that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States of America signed all the documents necessary for the drug to be widely used, as well as letters of recommendation that should speed up the process of vaccine emergence in hospitals. Recall that the drug was approved, which was jointly developed by two companies - the American Pfizer and the German BioNTech. Market participants were encouraged and decided to slightly reduce their appetite for the "safe haven" of gold, preferring more risky assets. However, many analysts claim that this is only a temporary reduction in the metal market and growth will soon recover since there are still many more negative and destabilizing factors in the global economy.
Among other things, market participants are very encouraged by the news from the US regarding a possible more significant subsidence of the country's economic growth, which is due to prolonged and so far ineffective negotiations on the adoption of financial incentives. On the last working day last week, an interim budget was signed in the US Congress, which will allow the government to work for another week and, possibly, finally agree on signing a new stimulus program. Hopes for an economic aid package is now gradually becoming less.
Meanwhile, the price copper, on the other hand, continues to strengthen precisely thanks to the news of the start of mass vaccination against coronavirus. Its price has already reached its maximum value over the past seven years. Investors are determined that the industrial sector of the economy will grow, which means that the demand for physical copper will also go up. This process has already started to some extent, as evidenced by the cost of copper.
The price of copper futures contracts for March delivery on the trading floor in London rose by 0.29%, which allowed them to reach $3.5463 per pound.
