By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Gold was up on Monday morning in Asia, with investors turning to the safe-haven asset. Weak economic data from the U.S. released during the previous week raised concerns about the global economic recovery from COVID-19.
Gold futures inched up 0.10% at $1,936.30 by 2:01 AM P ET (7:01 AM GMT).
The U.S. data showed a further slowdown in employment growth and an uptick in permanent job losses in August, triggering fears over the recovery's sustainability.
There are almost 27 million COVID-19 cases globally as of September 7, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
China also released customs data for August earlier in the day, which showed that exports increased 9.5% year-on-year, beating July’s 7.2% increase, but that imports fell 2.1% year-on-year, a larger decrease against the 1.4% drop for the previous month. The trade balance was $58.93 billion, higher than the forecast $50.50 billion but lower than July’s $62.33 billion figure.
Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday that details on a spending bill would be finalized by the end of the week, the bill is expected to fund the federal government through the beginning of December. The announcement came after the White House and Congress reached a deal, with Mnuchin and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also reportedly agreeing to extend funding. The measures aim to avert a government shutdown when current funding runs out at the end of the month.
“We’re going to move forward with a clean continuing resolution, hopefully through the beginning of December,” Mnuchin said, adding, “I hope by the end of the week we’ll have something firmed up.”