Gold touches $2000, dollar up for first session in eight

Gold futures touched $2000 for the first time ever as the dollar index inched up from June 2018 lows, ahead of US data and the Federal Reserve's 28-29 July policy meeting. 

As of 04:00 GMT, gold futures due in December rose 0.03% to $1,963 an ounce, while the dollar index rose 0.26% to 93.81. 

From the US, house prices is expected up 4.1% in June, while the Richmond manufacturing index is expected up to 5 in July from zero. 

The CB consumer confidence index is expected down to 94.0 from 98.1 in July, while the Federal Open Market Committee prepares to start its two-day policy meeting today, expected to maintain rates unchanged at near zero. 

Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell revealed the Republican rescue bill for the economy, amounting to $1 trillion for the unemployed and other affected sectors of society.  

Both Pfizer and Moderna announced the start of their late stage Covid 19 vaccine trials with over 30,000 participants each, with results expected by November. 

The World Health Organization reported 16.2 million coronavirus infections worldwide so far, with 650,000 deaths. 

Recent US-China tensions bolstered gold prices considerably, after China asked the US to close the Chengdu consulate in retaliation of the shutdown of the China Houston consulate, with bilateral relations continuing to deteriorate between both sides. 

Recent data showed global gold funds reported an increase of 2.7% in cash flows, adding 104 metric tonnes of gold, or about $5.6 billion in June, with total increases in the first half of 2020 reaching $39.5 billion, a record high on haven demand.