Spot gold rose 0.2% to $ 1,674.20 an ounce at 8:13 a.m. GMT, after increasing more than 2% in the previous session.
The US gold futures contract increased 0.4% to $ 1,675.20.
“Gold is moving higher because the markets are expecting further reductions and continued risk aversion at this time as (wider) markets are affected,” said Ilya Spivak, currency strategist at DailyFx.
“The most important thing here is how concerned the markets remain about this impact of the coronavirus.”
The metal has gained up to 5.5% so far this week as concerns over the coronavirus have prompted investors to rush out to find safe havens, as the US Federal Reserve released an emergency drop of 50 on Tuesday basic points.
Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding unproductive bullion.
“We have seen a steady transition from equities to gold due to the worsening macro environment, and this is something that gold will continue to see for the foreseeable future,” said ANZ analyst. , Daniel Hynes.
Asian stocks fell after Wall Street on Friday, while yields on 10-year US Treasuries fell to a record low, dropping the two-month dollar against its main rivals.
Globally, there have been over 98,000 cases and over 3,300 deaths from the coronavirus. Mainland China, where the virus was discovered in late 2019, reported 143 new confirmed infections on Thursday.
The widespread epidemic has forced many cities and countries to temporarily close their industrial activities, while travel restrictions have weighed on the service sectors.
The epidemic poses “evolving risks” to the US economy and US central bank officials are closely monitoring developments, said New York Federal Reserve Chairman John Williams on Thursday.
Palladium lost 0.6% to $ 2,516.41 an ounce.
“Palladium continues to outperform platinum, but we also have the problem of industrial demand in the automotive sector, which is currently hit very hard,” said Hynes of ANZ.
Autocatalyst metal fell 13% on February 28, after hitting an all-time high of $ 2,875.50 the previous day due to an acute supply shortage.
Silver lost 0.4% to $ 17.34 an ounce, while platinum lost 0.1% to $ 863.86.
