Sayona, Piedmont to create lithium giant in $623-million merger
Deal creates North America’s largest hard rock lithium miner, which will be based in Australia and listed in both the ASX and NASDAQ markets.
Gold erased a decline after President Donald Trump announced early Friday that he and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for Covid-19, roiling global assets and lifting the dollar.
Trump tweeted that he and the first lady would “begin our quarantine process,” shortly after one of his closest aides, Hope Hicks, had fallen ill with the coronavirus.
Bullion has rallied to a record this year as vast amounts of stimulus were pumped into economies to curb the damage from the coronavirus pandemic.
Gold and US Treasurys rallied as investors sought stability in safe-haven assets.
While prices stumbled last month amid a stronger dollar, the precious metal is still supported by low interest rates, a resurgence in Covid cases in some parts of the world, and the heightened uncertainty heading into the U.S. elections.
Spot gold traded 0.1% lower at $1,904.84 an ounce at 1:42 p.m. in Singapore, after earlier losing as much as 0.8%. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3%. Silver for immediate delivery was level at $23.8261 an ounce, recovering from a 1.3% loss.
In a memo, Trump’s physician said that the president and first lady plan to remain at the White House “during their convalescence” and that the medical unit would “maintain a vigilant watch.”
Investors are also awaiting the monthly non-farm payrolls data due later Friday. Bloomberg Economics analysts do not expect the September report — the last national tally released before Americans head to the polls — to be consequential enough to tilt the election outcome.
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