Gold prices on Monday tallied their highest finish in more than six years, as fears of the economic impact of a fast-moving viral outbreak hurt appetite for stocks and powered buying in assets perceived as havens.
“After almost three weeks of consolidation, gold has now pushed higher on risk-aversion as the Coronavirus position worsens and the markets move away from risk,” said Rhona O’Connell, head of market analysis for EMEA & Asia at INTL FCStone, in a daily note. “The $1,590 level has come into view and resistance stands at $1,600.”
The coronavirus, which reportedly originated in Wuhan City, China, has infected nearly 3,000 people and killed at least 80, prompting Beijing to extend the annual Lunar New Year holiday by two days to Feb. 2 to contain the disease, according to reports. In the U.S., the number of domestic cases hit five, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Gold for February delivery
GCG20, +0.10%
on Comex gained $5.50, or nearly 0.4%, to settle at $1,577.40 an ounce, after hitting an intraday high at $1,588.40, after. It settled with a weekly gain of 0.7% on Friday.
The precious metal finished on Monday at the highest for a most-active futures contract since April 9, 2013, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
U.S. stocks, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA, -1.57%
and the S&P 500 index
SPX, -1.57%
trading lower, supporting gains for the precious metal and bond prices, with the 10-year Treasury note
TMUBMUSD10Y, -0.11%
yield, that moves in the opposite direction of bond prices, down at 1.608% from 1.68% late Friday.
At the start of this week, “the news is not good, with further fatalities reported [from the coronavirus] and increasing numbers of cases outside China,” said O’Connell. “Equity markets have now started to slide and safe haven assets are in demand.”
Prices for industrial metals, however, finished lower, on the potential for a slowdown in industrial metals demand.
Silver prices spent some time Monday following gold higher, but gave up those gains to move lower to follow its peers among industrial metals. March silver
SIH20, -0.06%
lost 5.7 cents, or 0.3%, at $18.056 an ounce.
March copper futures
HGH20, -0.06%
fell 8.75 cents, or 3.3%, at $2.5965 a pound. April platinum
PLJ20, -0.02%
finished $18.90, or 1.9%, lower at $991.70 an ounce. March palladium
PAH20, +1.20%
dropped $142.70, or 6.2%, to $2,173.60 an ounce, extending its retreat to a third straight session after settling Wednesday at a fresh record.
“Platinum is joining with the industrial sector and giving back some recent gains,” said O’Connell. “The markets will be looking to assess the outlook for the Chinese auto sector and palladium, which was already correcting as demand slowed ahead of the Lunar New Year.”
Source : MTV
