Gold closes higher, but posts second straight weekly loss
Gold prices rose on Friday, as the US dollar turned higher against most of its peers, but the precious metal suffered weekly losses following the positive news about the Covid-19 vaccines.
The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and the German firm BioNTech announced on Wednesday that the recent data from the final phase of the clinical trials on their Covid-19 vaccine showed it was 95% effective.
This came a few days after Moderna announced that its coronavirus vaccine was more than 94.5% effective in preventing the disease.
The dollar index held against a basket of major currencies by 0.1% to 92.4 points as of 20:12 GMT, after hitting a high of 92.4 points and a low of 92.2 points.
Gold December futures rose 0.6% or $10.9, and closed at $1,872.40 an ounce, with a weekly loss of 0.7%, after hitting today's high at $1,879.2, and the low at $1,859.1.
Canadian dollar holds despite positive economic data
The Canadian dollar stabilized against most of its major counterparts on Friday, despite the release of upbeat economic data.
The data showed that Canada's retail sales index rose 1.1% in October, beating forecasts of 0.2%.
The core reading of the retail sales index (excluding energy and food prices) rose 1%, also better than forecasts of an unchanged reading.
The Canadian government announced today closing its borders with the US after the recent record spike in the number of coronavirus infections, as data from Johns Hopkins University revealed that the average daily number of infections reached 165,000 in the US recently.
As of 16:46 GMT, CAD/USD held at 0.7648, after hitting a high of 0.7669, and a low of 0.7640.
Copper climbs more than 2%, heads for strong weekly gain
Copper prices rose on Friday, as the US dollar held against most of its peers, amid optimism about the Covid-19 vaccines.
The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and the German firm BioNTech announced on Wednesday that the recent data from the final phase of the clinical trials on their Covid-19 vaccine showed it was 95% effective.
This came a few days after Moderna announced that its coronavirus vaccine was more than 94.5% effective in preventing the disease.
The dollar index held against a basket of major currencies at 92.2 points as of 14:27 GMT, after hitting a high of 92.4 points and a low of 92.2 points.
In tandem with this news, the Democratic candidate Joe Biden appears closer to the official declaration as President of the US than ever.
Copper December futures rose 2.4% to $3.29 per pound as of 14:25 GMT, with a high of $3.30 and a low of $3.22.
US stocks open lower on fears of halting aid programs
The major US stock indices fell on Friday, amid fears over the delay of the stimulus programs aimed at supporting businesses.
The US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that his team is looking to end several support programs that were aimed at small and medium businesses.
US President-elect Joe Biden had chosen a Treasury Secretary nominee who would be accepted by all the Democratic Party.
Biden yesterday attacked the incumbent President Trump's administration for not cooperating in the transition of power to his administration.
Some observers are awaiting Pennsylvania's decision regarding the votes recount after Trump filed a lawsuit in the state, but most experts do not expect tangible change.
As for stocks, Dow Jones fell 0.3% or 90 points to 29,394 as of 15:10 GMT, Nasdaq fell 0.1% or 9 points to 11,895, and S&P 500 fell 0.3% or 11 points to 3,571.