Gold futures surged on Monday to a more than seven-year high as a grim outlook on the spread of coronavirus supported investor appetite for the haven metal, even as Wall Street also surged on growing hopes that fatalities from the pandemic will soon reach a peak.
In fact, the Comex futures June price was up 2.9% at settlement at $US1,693.90 an ounce and then went on rising in after-hours trading to trade around $US1,713 an ounce (a rise of $US69 an ounce) around 5.30 am Sydney time.
A weakening in the US dollar helped – the Aussie dollar traded around 60.85 US cents at the same time after moving over 61 US cents during the session.
But it was fears about the continuing rise in COVID-19 cases and still rising death toll in the uS that worried investors.
And yet on Wall Street traders there seized on improvements in COVID-19 cases and deaths from some of the worst-hit countries in Europe to push prices up 6% or more.
There were signs the infection rate in New York was slowing and the death toll in Spain was starting to fall.
Traders in Europe had the same view and the Stoxx 600 index added 3.7%
The sharp rise in gold took the settlement price to a seven-year plus high – the latest time it was as high was in December 2012.
Comex silver for May delivery also rose sharply – up 67.5 cents, or 4.7%, to end at $US15.169 an ounce, following a 0.3% fall last week.
Comex May copper added on 1.1% to $US2.2175 a pound as well.
The surge in gold prices will see Australian miners rise strongly today on the ASX.
Gold bounced off comments from The US Surgeon General Jerome Adams who warned on Sunday “this is going to be the hardest and saddest week of most Americans’ lives, quite frankly.”
He told “Fox News Sunday” that “this is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment, only it’s not going to be localized.”
Meanwhile, iron ore prices remained unchanged because of a public holiday in China at Friday’s close of $US83.30 a tonne for 62% Fe fines delivered to northern China.
