2020.10.3010:59:00UTC+00Gold Edges Higher On Dollar Weakness

Gold prices rose slightly on Friday and the dollar dipped on expectations that the spread of coronavirus will provide additional pressure on the U.S. Congress to deliver more stimulus.

Spot gold rose 0.4 percent to $1,874.89 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were up 0.3 percent at $1,874.50.

U.S. stimulus stalemate continues, with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blaming each other for the inaction in pushing through the stimulus plan.

The White House coronavirus task force has urged tough countermeasures to curb the outbreak after at least nine states on Thursday reported record daily increases in new infections.

The United States broke its single-day record for new coronavirus infections on Thursday, reporting over 91,000 new cases.

"We are on a very difficult trajectory. We're going in the wrong direction," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, a leading task force member and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Elsewhere in Europe, Germany and France, the bloc's largest countries, announced new lockdowns this week to curb the spread of infections. Regardless of the U.S. election's outcome, investors believe that there will be some sort of a stimulus that will be injected into the system.