2020.12.1109:25:00UTC+00Gold Inches Higher On Brexit Worries

Gold inched higher on Friday amid a slight deterioration in the global risk sentiment.

Spot gold edged up 0.1 percent to $1,837.45 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were up 0.2 percent at 1,840.60.

Markets are winding up the week with risk-off trades amid uncertainties over Brexit, U.S. stimulus and worries over surging Covid-19 cases.

After months-long talks and with just three weeks to go until the end of the transition period, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there is now a "strong possibility" the U.K. will leave the EU without a deal.

There is a limit to what the Bank of England can do to avoid disruption or volatility in financial markets after Britain's Brexit transition period with the European Union ends on Dec. 31, Governor Andrew Bailey said at a news conference following the publication of the BoE's Financial Stability Report.

While U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi cited progress over a new Covid-19 relief package, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's staff were skeptical compromises could be made.

Pelosi suggested that the negotiations could stretch on after Christmas if necessary. On the Covid-19 front, Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline said clinical trials of their Covid-19 vaccine showed an insufficient immune response in older people, delaying advanced trials of their experimental Covid-19 shot.

Amid record daily increases in both coronavirus cases and deaths, calls are growing for tougher lockdown measures in Germany over the holiday season.