(Bloomberg) — Gold headed for a weekly advance on expectations there’ll be more stimulus measures to boost coronavirus-hit economies, with RBC Capital Markets predicting allocations to bullion will increase, at least for now.“The combination of low rates, massive stimulus, and high uncertainty point toward gold allocations rising regardless of whether equity markets improve materially,” though that may not coincide with higher prices, analysts led by Helima Croft said in a note.Bullion is trading near the highest in more than seven years as the pandemic triggered an unprecedented wave of stimulus from governments and central banks, and investors seeking a haven from market turmoil pour into exchange-traded funds backed by the metal. There’s the possibility of more measures as the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan have policy meetings next week. In the U.S., the House passed and sent to President Donald Trump a $484 billion virus aid package.RBC said it would buy bullion on pull-backs, at least until there’s enough momentum to begin to see an unwinding of global “whatever it takes” policies. “That moment will be the real test for gold,” it said.Gold gained further support Thursday after data from the U.S. showed another wave of unemployment filings, with the five-week total of job losses now exceeding 26 million. Ructions in the oil market this week, which saw prices plunge below zero for the first time in history, before clawing back losses also boosted demand for the haven asset.Spot gold fell 0.5% to $1,722.20 an ounce at 9:25 a.m. in Singapore, paring this week’s gain to 2.4%. Prices hit $1,747.36 last week, the highest since 2012.In other precious metals, silver and platinum fell, while palladium advanced.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
