Gold Prices Rise as U.S. Confirms First Community Transmission of Coronavirus

By Alex Ho

Investing.com - Gold prices rose again on Thursday in Asia after the U.S. confirmed the first possible “community spread” of the coronavirus in thecountry.

Gold Futures for April delivery gained 0.6% to $1,652.65.

The yellow metal is trading near a seven-year high and has outperformed other traditional haven assets, such as the Japanese yen and Swiss franch.

The Centers for Disease Control and Preventionn (CDC) said a California patient, who did not have a relevant travel history or exposure to another patient with the new coronavirus, was infected.

“At this time, the patient’s exposure is unknown,” the CDC said in a statement. “It’s possible this could be an instance of community spread of COVID-19, which would be the first time this has happened in the United States.”

“Community spread means spread of an illness for which the source of infection is unknown,” the agency said, adding that it’s possible the patient contracted the virus from someone who brought the infection back from another country.

The news came just hours after President Donald Trump said the risk of the virus to Americans is low. He announced overnight that Vice President Mike Pence will be in charge of the U.S. response to the virus outbreak.

Earlier, the president said “fake news” media was hyping the pandemic. He scheduled a news conference later in the day.

In other news, Goldman Sachs Group upper its gold forecast to $1,800 an ounce. “In the event that the virus effect spreads to Q2, we could see gold top $1,800/oz already on a 3-month basis.” Gold has now become “the haven of last resort,” said Goldman analyst Mikhail Sprogisin a note.

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