By Barani Krishnan
Investing.com – Gold broke through the $1,600 ceiling Tuesday after a revenue warning from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) saw funds flee from risk and into safe havens.
Palladium, meanwhile, returned to record highs after more than a month’s break, as fresh worries about short supplies in the auto-catalyst metal drove prices to new peaks.
The $1,600 milestone achieved by both bullion and futures of gold capped six weeks of attempts by gold bugs to return to the perch last hit when U.S.-Iran tensions spiked.
Gold futures for April delivery on New York’s COMEX settled Friday’s trade settled up $17.620, or 1.1%, at $1,603 per ounce. The session high was $1,608.15, a peak not seen by COMEX gold since Jan. 8.
Spot gold, which tracks live trades in bullion was up $20.46, or 1.3%, at $1,601.26 by 2:55 PM ET (19:55 GMT). Bullion earlier hit a six-week high of $1,605.35.
Stocks and other risk assets fell as U.S. markets reopened from the President’s Day holiday, amid Apple’s warning that the Covid-19 outbreak will prevent it from meeting its Q2 revenue forecasts due to production and sales slides in China, the manufacturing hub and second-biggest market for iPhones.
“Apple’s warning on sales affected by the coronavirus is raising interest in reexamining the global economic pullback on the epidemic,” said George Gero, precious metals analyst at RBC Wealth Management in New York. “All this is adding to the safe-haven appetite for gold.”
Palladium futures rose $180.90, or nearly 8%, to settle at $2,469.60. It hit a record high of $2,503.80 earlier as power shortages at South African mines reignited fears of tight supply.