PRECIOUS-Gold firms as risk appetite wanes on coronavirus fears

(Adds comments, updates prices)
* ECB holds rates
* Jitters over China virus push equities lower
* Spot gold biased to revisit low of $1,545.96/oz
-technicals

By Harshith Aranya
Jan 23 (Reuters) - Gold rose on Thursday as scaling concerns
over a coronavirus outbreak in China and its impact on global
economy soured sentiments for riskier assets, propping up demand
for the safe-haven asset.
Spot gold XAU= was up 0.4% at $1,564.13 per ounce by 1:48
p.m. EST (1848 GMT). U.S. gold futures GCcv1 settled up 0.6%
at $1,565.40 per ounce.
"Coronavirus has led people to gold because there is an
anticipation of a lot of potential turmoil in the economies that
are affected," said Jeffrey Sica, founder of Circle Squared
Alternative Investments.
"It is adding a level of uncertainty to the overall market
that is forcing people to consider more of safe haven in the
event that this does becomes a greater epidemic."
The Chinese government put millions of people in two cities
in lockdown as the death toll reached 18, and 634 people were
infected. Coronavirus fears led to the biggest tumble in Chinese
stocks in more than eight months, which in turn weighed on
global equity markets. MKTS/GLOB
Further benefiting bullion's appeal, U.S. yields tumbled to
multi-week lows. US/ Lower bond yields reduce the opportunity cost of holding
non-interest bearing gold.
"Equities are slightly softer so that is stoking some
interest in the metal," said Bob Haberkorn, senior market
strategist at RJO Futures.
"But absence of any geopolitical risk in the short term is
keeping gold prices in check. The European Central Bank meeting
did not move the needle too much."
The European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged at
its latest policy meeting and launched a "strategic review" of
its inflation goal and tools. Gold, considered a safe store of value in times of
political and economic uncertainty, climbed to a near seven-year
peak of $1,610.90 on Jan. 8 after an escalation in U.S.-Iran
tensions. It has held above $1,550 for the most part ever since.
Focus will now shift to the U.S. Federal Reserve's first
meeting of the year scheduled for Jan. 28-29.
Spot gold is biased to revisit its Jan. 21 low of $1,545.96,
looking shaky around a resistance at $1,564, said Reuters
technical analyst Wang Tao. TECH/C
Among other precious metals, palladium XPD= fell 0.6% to
$2,457.51 per ounce, silver XAG= eased 0.1% to $17.80 and
platinum XPT= dipped 0.7% to $1,004.83.

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TECHNICALS-Spot gold biased to revisit Jan. 21 low of $1,545.96
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