(Bloomberg) -- Gold fell after Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) announced plans to file for an emergency authorization after a final analysis showed its shot had no significant safety issues.
The U.S. drugmaker and partner BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX) said their Covid-19 vaccine was 95% effective, paving the way for them to file for authorization in the U.S. “within days.” Bullion has carved out a trading range below $1,900 an ounce since Pfizer announced an initial readout on the vaccine’s effectiveness last Monday, blunting demand for the haven.
Even with effective vaccines in the pipeline, the U.S. faces an uphill battle to bring the pandemic under control. While states including California and Illinois have extended restrictions to combat rising case numbers, an aid package from Congress could take time. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday asked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to resume talks for further fiscal stimulus, though McConnell stuck to his insistence on a targeted package.
“Lockdowns are spreading across the U.S. and with no immediate signs that Congress is ready to break the stimulus stalemate, gold will continue to struggle to rise,” said Edward Moya, a senior market analyst at Oanda Corp.
Exchange-traded funds, a key driver of gold’s rally to a record this year, have dropped about 40 tons of metal since the news, a sign investor confidence may be dwindling. Prices are yet to experience a protracted decline though, due to expectations that central banks will step up to help economies.
Spot gold declined 0.4% to $1,872.03 an ounce at 12:28 p.m. in London, after retreating 0.5% on Tuesday. Silver and Platinum also dropped. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.1% after ending Tuesday at the lowest level since April 2018.
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