Gold prices held steady on Tuesday after climbing to a one-week peak in the previous session, as concerns about the coronavirus epidemic that has claimed more than 1,000 lives in China offset an uptick in equities.
FUNDAMENTALS
Spot gold was little changed at $1,570.98 per ounce by 0041 GMT. The metal touched its highest since Feb. 4 at $1,576.76 on Monday. U.S. gold futures fell 0.3% to $1,574.60.
Asian shares inched higher on Tuesday, after U.S. stocks hit a record peak overnight, as investors assessed how quickly China's factories could return to work as the coronavirus continues to spread and deaths mount.
The U.S. dollar and Japanese yen were in demand as worries about the spread of the coronavirus sent investors to safe harbours.
The U.S. economy is in good shape and the Federal Reserve should hold rates steady for the time being, Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker said on Monday.
China's Hubei province, the epicentre of a coronavirus outbreak, reported 2,097 new cases and 103 new deaths on Feb. 10, the local health authority said on Tuesday.
The World Bank is offering technical assistance to China to help battle the coronavirus epidemic but no new loans, the development lender's president, David Malpass, said on Monday.
More than 300 Chinese firms are seeking bank loans totalling at least 57.4 billion yuan ($8.2 billion) to soften the impact of the coronavirus, two banking sources said.
Shanta Gold said it had acquired Barrick subsidiary Acacia Exploration's project in southwestern Kenya in a $14.5 million deal which gives the Tanzania-focused miner its first asset outside the country.
Palladium remained unchanged at $2,353.00 an ounce, silver was flat at $17.75, and platinum edged higher by 0.3% to $963.19. DATA/EVENTS AHEAD (GMT) 0930 UK GDP Estimate MM, 3M/3M, YY Dec 0930 UK Manufacturing Output MM Dec 0930 UK GDP Prelim QQ, YY Q4 (Reporting by Asha Sistla in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)
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