2020.10.2619:02:00UTC+00Gold Futures Settle Slightly Up

Gold futures closed slightly higher on Monday thanks to the yellow metal's safe-haven appeal following a sell-off in global equity markets amid a surge in coronavirus cases across the world.

Fading optimism about a U.S. stimulus package before the presidential election, weak new home sales data and the dollar's strength limited gold's uptick.

The dollar index advanced to 93.11, and was last seen at 93.04, up by about 0.3% from previous close.

Gold futures ended with a small gain of $0.50 at $1,905.70 an ounce.

Silver futures for December closed down $0.255 or about 1% at $24.420 an ounce, while Copper futures for December shed $0.0395 or 1.3%, settling at $3.0895 per pound.

In economic news, new home sales in the U.S. unexpectedly showed a sharp decrease in the month of September, according to a report released by the Commerce Department.

The report said new home sales tumbled by 3.5% to an annual rate of 959,000 in September after jumping by 3% to a revised rate of 994,000 in August. The pullback surprised economists, who had expected new home sales to surge up by 2.8%.