Gold is starting the brand new week on an extremely bullish note, with prices surging to record highs early on Monday over continued worries about the impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic on the global economy. At the time of writing, GOLD is trading at a little above $1,971.

With the number of confirmed cases and death toll continuing to rise across several countries, including the worst affected US, the safe haven appeal of gold is on the rise as traders worry about the economic situation deteriorating even further all around the world. Gold prices have also received an additional boost from a weakness in the US dollar, driven by rising uncertainty about the state of the US economy as a result of the pandemic.

The demand for the yellow metal strengthened as the federal unemployment bonus came to a close last Friday, which is expected to diminish consumer income and spending the US and could cause the Fed to turn even more dovish in the near future. Discussions about new stimulus measures in the US are still underway, but the sentiment soured after White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows sounded less positive about a coronavirus relief bill being finalized anytime soon.

So far, gold has gained around 30% this year, mainly as a result of the coronavirus pandemic which has struck almost every country worldwide. The precious metal prices continue to remain high also because of US-China tensions that have returned to the spotlight and raise worries about delaying economic recovery.