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Gold rallies, stocks stutter on COVID-19 fears
Gold climbed to as high as $1,764 on Monday, closing in on a 8 year high, as fears continue to grow of a second wave of coronavirus infections.
This early flight to safety saw investors run to Gold, as fears for further coronavirus cases gripped markets in early trading on Monday.
This came as the World Health Organization announced more than 183,000 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, with parts of the U.S. recording a daily record for new infections since the start of the pandemic.
Florida reported 2,926 new cases on Monday morning. As a result the S&P 500 and Dow Jones indexes were largely unchanged
U.S. existing home sales fall to near 10 year low
Data released today showed that in the month of May, U.S. home sales dropped to their lowest level in more than 9-1/2 years.
This news has, in the eyes of many, strengthened expectations of further contractions in the housing market in the second quarter following the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Existing home sales fell 9.7% to an adjusted annual rate of 3.91 million units last month, the lowest level since October 2010.
Although retail sales have recovered, home purchases remain a key indicator of the U.S. economy.
After being one of the least impacted European nations during the health crisis, Monday saw the coronavirus reproduction rate in Germany jump.
This increase saw the rate move from being 1.8 on saturday, up to 2.88 the day after.
With a reproduction rate of 2.88, this means that out of 100 people who contracted the virus, a further 288 other people will get infected.
The DAX initially sold off on the news, before recovering later in the day.
“The fundamental law of investing is the uncertainty of the future.”
Peter Bernstein
Biggest Bull
Gold: Gold climbed by as much as $19 on Monday as the WHO reported an increase in COVID-19 cases. However as fears calmed the gains dropped to a $10 move.
Biggest Bear
USDCAD: After climbing to its resistance level on Friday, USDCAD has been able to break out and as a result sold off at the 1.36 level.