Gold Prices continue to inch Higher

Overnight, during the North American trade session, gold futures contracts continued to inch higher on a safe haven bid. Traders are also looking for an alternative to traditional fiat currencies as interest rates are at, near or below zero.

Traders continue to anxiously monitor Covid-19 as it spreads throughout the United States and the world. The U.S. is now the new epicenter for the global pandemic. The state of New Jersey has reported a sharp increases in new cases and those infected.

Overnight, the widely spot gold futures contract closed at $1,618 an ounce. This was a gain of 0.1 percent. The spot contract, during the Asian trade session is currently down a little over 0.2 percent.

The U.S. gold futures contract, close down 0.2 percent at $1,622 an ounce.

For the quarter, the yellow metal is on track for its sixth straight quarterly gain in a row. For the quarter the bullion is up about 6.8 percent and for the month is up about 2.2 percent.

The palladium spot futures contract added 1.7 percent to trade at $2,308 an ounce. The spot platinum futures contract shed 3.4 percent to trade at $716 an ounce.

The spot silver futures contract, for front end delivery, also fell. This contract fell 3.8 percent to trade at $13.91 an ounce.

Gold Traders React to Lower Global Interest Rates

Lower global interest rates are supporting the non-fiat and non-interest bearing bullion. Lower rates and accommodative monetary policy supports the metal as the opportunity costs of holding non-interest rate asset classes is lower.

Overnight, President Donald Trump announced that he would extend the stay at home guidelines. This announcement follows the massive $2.2 trillion fiscal stimulus plan and boosted trader sentiment. This capped gains for safe haven asset classes.

Traders Monitor Covid-19 Headlines and Closures

The global pandemic has paralyzed economies around the world. Economists, at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are noting that the global economy has entered a recession and countries must enact massive stimulus spending to help with the recovery.

Traders are now worried about increasing bankruptcies and defaults with emerging market nations.