(Adds comments, updates prices)
* Gold could climb above $2,000/oz by Q2 2021- analyst
* Dollar gains, Asian shares slip on new COVID-19 strain
* Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus:
tmsnrt.rs/3mvcUoa
By Nakul Iyer
Dec 22 (Reuters) - Gold prices gained on Tuesday as a U.S.
coronavirus aid package set for Senate approval boosted the
metal's appeal as an inflation hedge, while a new coronavirus
strain shutting down much of Britain lent further support.
Spot gold rose 0.4% to $1,882.94 per ounce by 0312
GMT, after slipping as much as 1.3% in the previous session as
the new coronavirus strain rattled markets and investors opted
for the dollar. U.S. gold futures rose 0.3% to $1,888.90
per ounce.
"Heightened inflation expectations due to the U.S. fiscal
stimulus package have seen gold pick up as an inflation hedge,"
said Howie Lee, an economist at OCBC Bank.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass a $900
billion coronavirus aid bill, also attached to federal agency
spending to avert a government shutdown.
With the bill headed toward House passage, it would next be
considered by the Senate, which is standing by in what is
expected to be an overhwelming vote of approval.
Meanwhile, the dollar held firm and Asian shares inched
lower as the new coronavirus strain in the UK prompted a
lockdown affecting more than 16 million Britons and caused
several countries around the world to shut their borders to
Britain.
Uncertainties relating to the global economic outlook such
as the current COVID-19 strain are likely to support gold going
forward, Lee said, adding the metal could climb above $2,000 by
the second quarter of 2021.
On the technical front, gold may drop to $1,862 per ounce
again, as a bounce from $1,764.46 may have completed, according
to Reuters analyst Wang Tao.
Silver rose 1.1% to $26.45 an ounce. Platinum
fell 0.4% to $1,005.10 and palladium gained 0.4% to
$2,318.13.
(Reporting by Nakul Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu
Sahu)
.Source
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