2020.06.1610:44:00UTC+00Gold Edges Higher As Global Covid-19 Cases Top 8 Million

Gold prices inched higher on Tuesday as the number of global confirmed Covid-19 cases topped 8 million, adding to concerns about a second wave of lockdowns from rising infection rates.

Mainland China reported 40 new confirmed coronavirus cases for June 15, down from 49 a day earlier.

Two new cases have been confirmed in New Zealand after two women who flew in from London to see a dying parent had tested positive.

Spot gold rose 0.4 percent to $1,730.97 per ounce while U.S. gold futures were up 0.6 percent at $1,737.90.

The United States still leads the world with the highest number of infections, about 2 million or 25 percent of all reported cases. The number of cases reported in Latin America and the Caribbean now stands at 1,681,378.

Gold is also benefiting from a weaker dollar after the Federal Reserve announced it will begin purchases of individual corporate bonds to help the world's largest economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic.