PRECIOUS-Gold holds gains on worries of coronavirus impact on world economy

(Updates prices)
* Germany's 10-year Bund yield drops to near 3-month low
* U.S. 10-year Treasury yields falls to lowest since Oct. 10
* WHO to decide whether virus constitutes global emergency
* Norilsk Nickel to deliver 3 T of palladium to market

By K. Sathya Narayanan
Jan 30 (Reuters) - Gold held onto gains on Thursday,
supported by concerns over the potential impact on global
economic growth of a fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak in
China which has killed 170 people.
Spot gold XAU= was up 0.2% to $1,579.63 per ounce by 1220
GMT after rising 0.7% on Wednesday, while U.S. gold futures
GCcv1 were 0.6% higher at $1,579.00 per ounce.
"The whole run into gold and government debts (bonds), away
from equities, is due to worries regarding the scale of the
outbreak of the virus," said SP Angel analyst Sergey Raevskiy.
"Copper prices are falling off a cliff, which is an
indication of how the markets perceive the risks of the virus to
the economic growth." Copper is often regarded as a leading
indicator of the health of the global economy. MET/L
Global equity markets fell, while Germany's benchmark
10-year Bund yield DE10YT=RR dropped to a near three-month low
and U.S. 10-year Treasury yields US10YT=RR hit their lowest
since Oct. 10. MKTS/GLOB US/ A Chinese government economist on Wednesday said China's
economic growth may drop to 5% or even lower due to the
outbreak, which has spread to more than 10 countries.
Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell acknowledged the risks
of a short-term slowdown in China, including to the U.S.
economy, following the central bank's widely expected decision
to keep interest rates unchanged. Bullion is often seen as a safe store of value during times
of political and economic uncertainty.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) will reconvene on
Thursday to decide whether the coronavirus outbreak constitutes
a global emergency. "Technically, if the (gold) price can surpass the high
reached three days ago at (around) $1,585, we will have another
signal of strength," ActivTrades chief analyst Carlo Alberto De
Casa said in a note.
Gold is being supported by markets' struggle to understand
the "real" impact of the virus on the global economy, he added.
Elsewhere, palladium XPD= lost 0.2% to $2,283.85 per
ounce, having hit a record high of $2,582.19 on Jan. 20 on
supply worries.
Russia's Norilsk Nickel said on Wednesday its Global
Palladium Fund would deliver three tonnes of palladium ingots to
the market from its current stock to provide short-term relief
to tight supplies. Silver XAG= gained 1.1% to $17.74, while platinum XPT=
fell 0.4%, to $970.23.