Gold prices today jump after Donald Trump tests positive for covid-19: Check here today rate

New Delhi: Gold prices today jumped in global markets after US President Donald Trump announced that he and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for Covid-19 with barely one month left until the US presidential election.

Spot gold traded 0.4% higher at $1,913.90 an ounce, recovering from earlier loss of 0.8%. Silver prices jumped 0.9% to $23.9992 an ounce, recovering from a 1.3% loss. Among other commodities oil and copper prices plunged today while Dow futures were down over 1.5% after Trump tweeted that he and the first lady would “begin our quarantine process,” shortly after one of his closest aides, Hope Hicks, had fallen ill with the coronavirus.

The flight-to-safety also pushed the US dollar higher against a basket of other currencies. Indian markets, including commodity exchange MCX, are closed today due to a public holiday. Gold futures on MCX had risen 0.4% to ₹50,544 on Thursday while silver had jumped 1.6% to ₹60,900 per kg on Thursday. Gold has rallied to a record high this year as vast amounts of stimulus were pumped into economies to curb the damage from the coronavirus pandemic.

After hitting a record high in August, gold prices have stumbled over the past eight weeks amid a stronger dollar. Analysts say that gold is likely to find support at lower levels amid low interest rates, a resurgence in Covid cases in some parts of the world, and the heightened uncertainty heading into the US elections. Gold investors are also awaiting the monthly US payrolls data due later today.

On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $2.2 trillion Democratic plan to provide more economic relief from the COVID-19 pandemic, as a bipartisan deal continued to elude House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the White House.

Gold tends to benefit from widespread stimulus measures as it is widely viewed as a hedge against inflation.