Gold futures closed slightly higher Thursday, ahead of the Christmas holiday, but booked the first weekly decline in about a month. Traders of precious metals have been watching the path of a U.S. coronavirus fiscal aid package, passed by Congress on Monday but which is currently unsigned on President Donald Trump's desk. February gold settled $5.10, or 0.3%, higher at $1,883.20 an ounce. For the week, gold is off 0.3%, FactSet data show, based on the most-active contract. Gold trading ended an hour earlier than usual on Christmas Eve and will remain closed Friday in observance of the holiday. Futures for bullion had produced three consecutive weekly gains up until this week, which has been marked by concerns about Trump's willingness to push through a coronavirus aid package that was seen as a boon to gold prices and the overall economy as COVID-19 lockdowns and the spread of the deadly disease accelerate. Trump has demanded that Congress raise direct stimulus payments to $2,000 from $600; however, Republicans in the House Thursday morning defied the president and blocked a bill put forward by Democrats that would have increased stimulus checks. It isn't clear that the president will pass the legislation in its current form.
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