FUNDAMENTALS
Spot gold rose 0.3% to $ 1,644.97 an ounce at 0052 GMT, after posting its biggest one-day percentage gain since 2016 in the previous session.
The US gold futures contract increased 0.2% to $ 1,646.80.
The Fed cut interest rates on Tuesday as an emergency measure to protect the world’s largest economy from the impact of the coronavirus epidemic.
However, the move did not calm investors’ nerves, with the top three US stock indices closing almost 3% down overnight, while Asian stocks faltered on Wednesday.
Falling interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding unproductive bullion while weighing on Treasury yields and the dollar.
US 10-year Treasury benchmark rates hovered near the record lows reached in the previous session, when they slipped below 1% for the first time.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) lowered its base rate applied through the overnight discount window by 50 basis points.
Finance ministers and G7 central bank governors said Tuesday they would use all the right political tools to achieve strong and sustainable growth and hedge against the risks of the virus, which has fueled fears of a global recession.
The World Health Organization has warned of a global shortage and rising prices for protective equipment to fight the epidemic and has called on businesses and governments to increase production by 40% as the death toll increased.
The automotive industry’s demand for platinum will increase this year for the first time since 2016, but it will not be enough to compensate for a drop in investment purchases, leaving the world market again in surplus, said the World Platinum Investment Council.
Palladium slipped 0.4% to $ 2,490.62 an ounce, while platinum rose 0.1% to $ 875.62.
Silver rose 0.3% to $ 17.22 an ounce.
