The gold price rallied again on Friday and was poised for its biggest weekly gain since October 2011, as mounting worries over the economic fallout from the fast-spreading coronavirus drove investors towards the safe-haven precious metal.
The spot price jumped nearly 1% to $1,682.52 per ounce by 11am, having risen by around 2% in the previous session.
Gold has rallied about 6.2% so far this week, having surpassed $1,688.60 in late February to hit its highest level since the start of 2013.
CHASE FOR SAFETY
Investors have surged towards safety assets over the past couple of weeks as the coronavirus outbreak spread beyond China’s borders, with very real concerns emerging over the depth of and breadth of the impact on economic activity.
US 10-year treasury yields have moved aggressively lower, hitting a fresh record low at 0.8%. The US 30-year yield also shipped a few more points to an all-time low 1.4% and is now where the two year yield was as recently as 24 January.
‘The speed of the decline has been brutally swift, albeit relatively orderly in its progress’, said Neil Wilson, a market commentator at Markets.com.
UK gilt yields have also hit an all-time low. The two year is now running at just 0.15%, while the 10 year gilt yield stands at 0.33%.
