(Updates prices)
* U.S. weekly jobless claims top 6 million
* SPDR Gold Trust holdings hit highest since October 2016
* Interactive graphic tracking the global spread- open https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7
in an external browser
By Sumita Layek
April 2 (Reuters) - Gold prices jumped over 1% on Thursday,
as record high U.S. jobless claims for a second week in a row
intensified fears of economic damage due to the coronavirus and
drove investors towards the safe-haven metal.
Spot gold XAU= gained 1.3% to $1,610.68 per ounce by 1:31
p.m. EDT (1731 GMT), while U.S. gold futures GCcv1 settled
2.9% higher at $1,637.70.
"The reality of that (jobless claims numbers) setting in
along with the equities starting to turn lower, you get some
fresh rounds of safe-haven buying in gold," said Bob Haberkorn,
senior market strategist at RJO Futures.
The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment
benefits last week shot to a record high of 6.65 million, as
more jurisdictions enforced stay-at-home measures to curb the
coronavirus. U.S. stock indexes fell after an explosive increase in U.S.
jobless claims. .N
"The longer this thing drags out, the worse the situation
will be in longer term. Gold is an asset that should do well
through all this turbulence, all the money that is being printed
to combat the effects of the virus and the interest rates being
dropped to zero," Haberkorn said. The pandemic has infected nearly 1 million people across the
world and killed over 50,000 and forced countries to ensure
restrictions and lockdowns to combat the outbreak. think that gold will likely continue to play an
important role in investor allocations over the next few months
given all the turbulence. However, volatility will remain quite
high," said Edward Meir, analyst at ED&F Man Capital Markets in
a note.
"Signs of prolonged economic weakness and increasingly
aggressive stimulus measures pursued by governments and central
banks should provide gold with something of a floor."
Indicative of sentiment, holdings in the world's largest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust GLD , rose
0.18% to 968.75 tonnes on Wednesday, their highest since October
2016. GOL/ETF
Among other precious metals, palladium XPD= fell 0.9% to
$2,197.63 per ounce, while platinum XPT= gained 1% to $724.84.
"Auto data out of the U.S. and Europe paint a bleak picture.
Chinese data is beginning to show green shoots and should be
supportive to palladium and to a lesser extent platinum," MKS
PAMP said in a note.
Silver XAG= jumped 3% to $14.42 per ounce.
The global sliver market will be undersupplied for a third
year in 2020 as investors are lured by decade-low prices,
offsetting expected falls in its use by jewellers and industry,
a report forecast. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
SPDR Gold Trust ETF holdings versus spot gold prices https://reut.rs/3bVLdjt
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