World last week: Gold price increased to record; Urgent race to produce Covid vaccine
(Baonghean.vn) - The world gold price last week increased to a record high, as investors rushed to collect gold amid concerns about the increasing spread of the epidemic, seriously affecting the global economy. The Covid-19 epidemic is evolving unpredictably, and the vaccine to prevent the disease has become more urgent than ever. These are the issues that received attention last week.
GOLD FEVER
Gold has long been considered a safe haven, a haven for investors when other investments are volatile, especially during economic crises. Gold cannot be printed like dollars, and it is also difficult to fall as quickly as stocks. In addition, the US dollar has been on a downward slide in recent weeks, falling to a two-year low against other currencies. So when the world is in turmoil, people hold onto gold.
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| Gold prices hit a record $1,944 an ounce earlier this week. Photo: The Guardian |
Gold is considered the best insurance against the chaos in the currency market, said Carlo Alberto De Casa, an analyst at online trading platform Activ Trades. While currencies can be printed, the finite nature of gold makes it the best store of value in these sensitive and uncertain times.
According to CNN, the price of gold for August delivery in the first trading session of this week surpassed the record price, at more than 1,944/ounce, beating the previous record of 1,921 USD/ounce set in 2011. CNN said that this year, gold has increased in value by 27%. And last week, according to Market Watch, gold also increased in value by 4.8%. This is the highest price increase in a week, since mid-April. Fears that many states will have to close again, the dollar's depreciation, deep interest rates, and US-China trade tensions are a series of reasons for the increase in gold prices.
Experts say that low interest rates make deposits less profitable, so many people have withdrawn their money to buy gold. Many people buy gold because they are afraid that others will buy it and they will not. This is a special period, when all factors are pushing people to buy gold. And so many people are buying that they forget the risk factor that gold, once it has peaked, will also decline.
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| Gold is considered a safe investment channel in the context of a volatile economy. Photo: Financial Times |
Another reason for the high gold price is that many countries are also increasing their gold reserves during this crisis. The Covid-19 epidemic has caused a sharp decrease in gold mining capacity in recent times. Gold deliveries have also been interrupted at times. Therefore, when gold has arrived at trading ports such as New York, countries have increased their purchases. Collecting gold in the commodity market for countries at this time is like people buying food at supermarkets during the peak of the epidemic.
Gold prices are expected to rise further due to geopolitical tensions. The main factors driving gold higher are the negative correlation between real interest rates and the dollar. This, combined with limited supply as companies continue to race to buy, will push gold prices higher.
Analysts predict that gold prices will reach $2,000 an ounce, as the dollar is expected to come under pressure from the US Federal Reserve, which may decide to keep interest rates low for longer at near zero until it is confident that the economy will overcome current difficulties and move towards its goals of price stability and job creation.
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| Inside the gold vault of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. |
VACCINE WARS
Covid-19 vaccines are becoming a fierce competition between countries around the world. That is what global health organizations fear as they plan to buy large quantities and distribute vaccines fairly around the world.
It is worth noting that some wealthy countries have now decided to “go it alone”, making deals with major pharmaceutical manufacturers to ensure millions of doses of vaccines for their citizens.
Countries such as the US, UK, and the European Union (EU) have struck deals with pharmaceutical giants such as Pfizer, BioNtech, AstraZeneca, and Moderna. Experts say the move is undermining the global trend. Pfizer said this week that it is in talks with the EU and several member states to supply potential Covid-19 vaccines. In addition, on July 29, the UK announced agreements with GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi to secure supplies of potential Covid-19 vaccines.
All of these actions will further fuel the global competition to hoard vaccines among wealthy nations, and feed a dangerous trend of vaccine nationalism, according to global health charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).
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| Research on developing a vaccine to prevent and fight Covid-19 at Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore. Photo: Reuters |
Unlike the distribution of vaccines during the 2009/2010 H1N1 pandemic, health experts say the Covid-19 pandemic is a much bigger threat. Therefore, the imbalance in vaccine distribution will put a large number of the world's population at risk. This will only make the pandemic more widespread and the damage it causes more terrible.
More than 75 wealthy countries, including the UK, have expressed interest in the COVAX funding scheme, run by the World Health Organization and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). However, according to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), countries such as the US, Russia, and China have not expressed interest in the scheme. And the European Commission has even advised member states not to buy vaccines through COVAX.
Experts estimate the world will have about 2 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines by the end of 2021, if some of the leading candidates prove effective in late-stage trials currently underway. COVAX aims to distribute vaccines to at least 20% of the populations of countries that sign up.
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| Experts estimate the world will have about 2 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccine by the end of 2021. Photo: Reuters |
However, Seth Berkley, CEO of GAVI, said that if countries or regions seek to buy vaccines for their entire populations, instead of sharing them among countries and prioritizing the protection of those most at risk, the pandemic will be uncontrollable. If some countries, even 30-40 countries, have Covid-19 vaccines, but more than 150 countries and territories in the world do not, the pandemic will still rage.
This virus spreads like lightning. And the pandemic will only end when its global spread stops.
