Gold prices rose nearly 3% on Monday, following a steep decline in the previous session, as the dollar and global equities fell sharply after the U.S. Federal Reserve made another surprise interest rate cut.

FUNDAMENTALS
Spot gold was up 1.4% at $1,550.26 per ounce by 0030 GMT, having risen as much as 2.8% earlier. The metal fell 3% on Friday.

U.S. gold futures rose 2.4% to $1,553.30 per ounce.

The Fed slashed rates back to near zero, restarted bond buying and joined other central banks to ensure liquidity in dollar lending to help put a floor under a rapidly disintegrating global economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Stock markets and the dollar fell heavily, after emergency rate cuts in the United States and New Zealand failed to allay fears about the coronavirus' economic shock.

New Zealand's central bank slashed interest rates by 75 basis points to a record low following an emergency meeting as it prepared for a "significant" hit to the economy from the virus.

Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

The benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields fell, resuming its march towards an all-time low touched last week.

European Union finance ministers plan to agree on Monday on a coordinated economic response to the epidemic, with the European Commission forecasting the effects of the virus could push the EU into a recession.

Manufacturing in Britain weakened sharply in early 2020 even before concerns about the virus crisis escalated, adding urgency to the need for a trade deal with the European Union, an industry survey showed.

Physical gold markets in major Asian hubs last week reeled from the impact of the outbreak and dealers offered deeper discounts in top consumer China.

SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 1.33% to 931.59 tonnes on Friday.

Speculators reduced their bullish positions on COMEX gold and silver contracts in the week to March 10, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday.

Palladium fell 3.1% to $1,750.50 per ounce, while platinum slipped 0.8% to $755.50.

Silver gained 0.7% to $14.78 per ounce.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0200 China Urban Investment (YTD) YY (Feb)
0200 China Industrial Output YY (Feb)
0200 China Retail Sales YY (Feb)
1100 EU Reserve Assets Total (Feb)

(Reporting by K. Sathya Narayanan in Bengaluru)

© Reuters News 2020