Gold prices reached their highest levels in seven years yesterday, and are heading towards recording the best weekly performance in a month and a half, at a time when demand for safe haven origin received support from a rise in the number of new cases of Coronavirus in South Korea.
And gold rose in immediate transactions 0.4% to $ 1625.05 an ounce, after reaching its highest level since February 2013 at $ 1626.27 earlier in the session. Since the beginning of the week, prices have risen 2.5% and head towards achieving the largest weekly gain in percentage terms since the third of January.
US gold futures rose 0.4% to $ 1627.4.
"It appears that the main focus of gold is on the uncertainty surrounding the virus and its spread around the world," said John Sharma, economist at the National Australia Bank, adding that the impact of the epidemic on tourism, travel and growth is fueling demand for the yellow metal.