Rising hopes for another round of fiscal stimulus in the US and a weakness in the dollar have sent gold prices higher and on track for the best weekly performance in almost two months. At the time of writing, GOLD is trading at a little above $1,895.

So far this week, gold prices have strengthened by almost 2% – the highest weekly gain seen since early August. On Thursday, the scaled down coronavirus relief package was approved by the House of Representatives and now awaits a vote in the Senate. The rising likelihood of more stimulus measures is supporting the safe haven appeal of the yellow metal.

Meanwhile, gold did come under pressure after the US dollar gained by 0.1% against other major currencies, making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies. This was driven by a reduction in the weekly jobless claims figures over the past week.

Later today, gold could see some movement on the release of the much awaited US NFP report. Any decrease in employment numbers in the US could weaken the dollar and send the safe haven asset higher.