Gold futures climbed on Monday to tally a fourth consecutive gain, as investors fretted about the economic impact on China of the fast-moving outbreak of the coronavirus.
Prices for the yellow metal “continue to benefit on uncertainty, with how much and how long the coronavirus will weigh on global growth,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda. “Expectations are growing for the virus to peak in a few weeks, but if we see any new outbreaks or continued spreading of the disease outside of China, demand for safe-havens will soar.”
Gold for April delivery GCJ20, +0.36%[1] on Comex rose $6.10, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,579.50 an ounce, scoring a fourth consecutive gain, with the most-active contract at its highest finish in a week. The bullion on Friday showed a 0.9% decline for the week based on the most-active contract, according to FactSet data.
March silver SIH20, +0.64%[2], meanwhile, added 9.3 cents, or 0.5%, to $17.785 an ounce, after putting in a 1.8% weekly drop last week.
Gold “seems poised to make another run at the $1,600 level and if it can get there, we could easily see a failed triple-top pattern open the door for a move to the $1,640 region,” said Moya, in a daily update.
The death toll for the novel strain of coronavirus climbed to more than 900 in mainland China, exceeding that of the severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, that claimed 774 lives...