2020.07.0810:26:00UTC+00Gold Rises Above $1800 An Ounce

Gold prices rose on Wednesday to hover near their highest level since November 2011 as soaring Covid-19 cases in the U.S. and elsewhere around the world dented hopes of a swift economic recovery.

Surging coronavirus cases boosted hopes that the Federal Reserve will announce more stimulus.

Spot gold rose 0.4 percent to $1,801.55 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were up 0.2 percent at $1,813.65 per ounce.

The overall number of global Covid-19 cases has increased to more than 11.7 million, while the deaths have soared to over 543,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

More U.S. states reported record numbers of new infections, with Florida facing an impending shortage of intensive care unit hospital beds. California reported more than 10,000 coronavirus cases on Tuesday, a record rise for a single day.

The Australian state of Victoria saw another record rise in daily coronavirus cases, which led to lockdown measures being reimposed in Melbourne, the country's second-biggest city.

Dr Michael Ryan, emergencies chief of the WHO said the rise in cases was not due to widespread testing, but because the epidemic was "accelerating."

Also, the WHO on Tuesday acknowledged the emerging evidence of airborne spread of the novel coronavirus after an open letter by over 200 scientists outlined evidence that showed floating virus particles can infect people who breathe them in.

U.S.-China tensions also remained on investors' radar after reports suggested that U.S. President Donald Trump's top advisers weighed proposals to undermine the Hong Kong currency's peg to the U.S. dollar in a bid to punish banks in Hong Kong.