Gold Climbs After House Backs Trump’s Call for $2,000 Checks

(Bloomberg) -- Gold ticked higher after the U.S. House passed a bill to boost household checks to $2,000, a proposal backed by President Donald Trump that ramps up the burgeoning cost of pandemic relief measures.

The plan to raise payments from $600 is in line with Trump’s surprise request last week when he threatened to reject the entire spending package. The dollar weakened after the House backed the plan, which would lift spending on household relief by about $464 billion.

Gold is headed for its first monthly gain in five as optimism over coronavirus vaccines gives way to renewed bets on inflation and a weaker dollar. Economic disruption and mounting global stimulus spending has helped carry gold toward its best year since 2010.

With trading volumes still thin in the holiday season, “precious metals traders were taking the cue of direction from the U.S. dollar in the absence of any new fundamental drivers,” Philip Futures wrote in a note. The U.S. currency hit the lowest since 2018 earlier this month.

Spot gold rose 0.3% to $1,879.34 an ounce at 11:19 a.m. in London, after a volatile day on Monday that ended with a loss of 0.5%

Silver rose 0.1%, while platinum and palladium also gained.

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With assistance from Bloomberg