By Barani Krishnan

Investing.com – Gold prices came near to testing June lows hit nearly nearly two weeks ago as investors juxtaposed news of vaccine developments for Covid-19 and the relief those could bring with spiking virus cases around the country.

settled down $12.40, or 0.7% at $1,861.50. This was despite rival sliding into the negative territory late into the session — a dynamic that would have normally boosted gold prices. Earlier in the day, December gold fell to $1,850.45 — just a little shy of the five-month low of 1,848 hit on Nov. 9.

The , which reflects real-time trades in bullion, was down $5.53, or 0.3%, to $1,867.21 by 3:57 PM ET (20:57 GMT).

“Gold has softened towards the lower boundaries of its recent trading range and could be vulnerable of a break of the $1850 level if the dollar continues to rebound,” said Ed Moya, an analyst at New York’s OANDA.

“Gold’s weakness should be short-lived, but if bearish momentum persists, the $1,800 level should prove very attractive for long-term investors.”

The United States passed a grim milestone on the Covid-19 on Wednesday, with fatalities exceeding 250,000 while the case count breached 11.5 million. Health experts predict that the country could soon be reporting 2,000 deaths a day or more, matching or exceeding the spring peak, and that 100,000 to 200,000 more Americans could die in the coming months.

While fear over the raging pandemic should be good enough for investors to rush into safe-havens such as gold, the yellow metal’s bullish prospects have been blunted by a rash of news from drug companies such as Pfizer (NYSE:) and Moderna (NASDAQ:), that have reported 95% efficacy in their Covid-19 vaccines.