By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Gold was up on Tuesday morning in Asia, as the U.S. Congress reached agreement on a long-awaited COVID-19 stimulus package earlier in the day.
Gold futures edged up 0.14% at $1,885.35 by 11:48 PM ET (4:48 AM GMT), but was below the $1,900 mark seen on Monday. Stocks, which usually move inversely to gold, were down during the Asia Pacific session on Tuesday.
The House of Representatives passed an $892 billion coronavirus aid package as well as a $1.4 trillion measure to keep the government funded for another year.
The bill will become law once passed by the Senate, where it is now under review, and signed by President Donald Trump. The package includes $600 payments to most Americans as well as additional payments to the millions of people who have lost their jobs due the COVID-19 pandemic. It comes in the nick of time, as a larger round of benefits expires on Saturday.
Across the Atlantic, the new B.1.1.7 strain of the COVID-19 virus discovered in England has caused countries like Canada and Hong Kong to ban travel to and from the U.K. London and southeastern England are now under a full Tier 4 lockdown, with the ensuing travel chaos and the possibility of food shortages coming just days before Christmas.
The U.K.’s chief scientific advisor Sir Patrick Vallance warned during a press conference Monday that the increased transmissibility of the B.1.1.7 strain was now confirmed and this “likely means that measures will be increased in some areas and not reduced.”
The U.K. is also racing against the clock to reach a post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union (EU), with only days left before its exemption from tariffs expires on Dec. 31.
Although there were reports that the EU was considering a compromise on fishing rights, which have been a stumbling block to a deal, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that there are still “problems” in securing a deal.