Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold gained 0.4% to close near $1,572 as the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus prompted fears of a global pandemic, leading investors to shed risk in favor of safe-haven assets. The metal added 0.7% for the week, posting its seventh straight week of rising prices.

The Center for Disease Control confirmed a second US case of the mysterious SARS-like virus from China and said more than 60 US cases are being investigated. France has also reported two cases. More than 900 cases and 36 deaths have been reported in China, where authorities have imposed travel bans on more than 35 million people to curb the spread.

Wall Street fell, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both dropping almost 1% on concerns that quarantines during the important Lunar New Year may have a substantial impact on China's GDP and global trade.

Helping to stem losses in equities, HIS Markit reported US purchasing manager activity for the services sector reached a 10-month high in January. The manufacturing PMI slipped to a three-month low, however, as trade wars continued to take their toll.

Treasury bonds rallied alongside gold on flights to safety while the dollar picked up 0.1% against major rivals. The safe-haven yen and Swiss franc traded higher while the euro dropped on weak data out of Germany.

The other precious metals were mixed for the day and week. Silver rose 1.6% today to pull out a weekly rise of 0.2%. Platinum picked up 0.3% on the day but fell 1.4% on the week. Palladium shed 0.5% for a weekly win 4.1%.

At the Comex close: February gold gained $6.50 to $1,571.90; March silver rose 28 cents to $18.11; April platinum added $3.30, to $1,010.60; and March palladium dropped $12.70 to $2,316.30 an ounce.