2020.11.3009:47:00UTC+00Gold Set For Worst Month In Four Years On Vaccine Hopes

Gold declined on Monday and remained on track for its worst month in four years amid investor optimism over a coronavirus vaccine-led economic rebound.

Spot gold fell 0.8 percent to $1,773.36 per ounce and was on track for a 6 percent decline this month, marking its biggest monthly loss since November 2016. U.S. gold futures were down 0.7 percent at $1,776.10.

Global markets were dominated by a surge in risk appetite this month in the wake of Joe Biden's U.S. presidential win and promising results from large clinical trials testing vaccines to prevent Covid-19.

Biden's transition to power officially kicked off last week, ending a major uncertainty. On the vaccine front, trial successes from Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. have buoyed hopes that a Covid-19 vaccine is coming soon.

The U.K. government said it has signed a deal for an additional 2 million doses of mRNA-1273, Moderna's vaccine candidate against Covid-19, bringing the total to 7 million doses for the U.K.

The U.K. now has access to enough doses of Moderna's vaccine candidate for about 3.5 million people.

The latest numbers show a stabilization in new coronavirus infections in Europe, with Britain and France preparing to ease some of their lockdown restrictions.

Also bolstering sentiment was data showing that China's factory activity expanded at the fastest pace in more than three years this month.