Gold prices retreat to start July after the notching their highest finish since 2011

Gold futures were drifting lower Wednesday after topping $1,800 and marking the highest finish since in about nine years Tuesday, as uncertainty about the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic underpinned demand for the safe haven.

Concerns about the spread of COVID-19 and stimulus from governments and global central banks to limit the harmful impact of the contagion is expected to foster an environment ripe for the rise of gold to further records, gold bulls predict.

“Gold is continuing to rise reaching new historic levels setting the stage for $2000 Gold sometime this year,” Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities, wrote in a Wednesday report.

August gold GCQ20, -0.43% was $5.50, or 0.3%, lower at $1,795 an ounce, after notching the highest finish for a most-active contract since Sept. 2011 on Monday, according to Dow Jones Market Data. In August 2011, gold futures settled at a record $1,891.90.

In the first half of this year, gold futures based on the most-active contracts rose just over 18%. For the second quarter, the commodity gained nearly 13% and it climbed almost 3% in the month of June.

Meanwhile, September silver SIU20, -0.74% which is the most-active contract, shed 10 cents, or 0.6%, to reach $18.550 an ounce, following its 0.6% climb on Tuesday. For the first six months of the year, the white metal climbed 4%, but surged nearly 32% in the second quarter. It tacked on nearly 0.8% in June.

Investors in precious metals will watch for a number of economic reports that could influence trade in metals, including an account of the Federal Reserve’s most recent monetary-policy meeting due at 2 p.m. and a report on private-sector employment from Automatic Data Processing Inc. at 8:15 a.m. Eastern.

Also on deck are reports on manufacturing activity from the Institute for Supply Management due at 10 a.m.