March 9 (Reuters) - Gold prices jumped past the $1,700 per
ounce level for the first time since late 2012 on Monday, as a
widening coronavirus outbreak and a plunge in crude oil hammered
equities and sent investors scurrying for safe havens.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= rose 1.5% to $1,699.20 per ounce by 0054
GMT, having touched its highest since December 2012 at $1,702.45
earlier in the session.
* U.S. gold futures GCv1 jumped 1.6% to $1,699.70 per
ounce.
* Asian equities sank as investors fled to bonds to hedge
the economic shock of the coronavirus, and oil plunged more than
20% after Saudi Arabia slashed its official selling price.
MKTS/GLOB O/R
* The price of futures contracts for the S&P 500 index, a
Wall Street benchmark, fell more than 4% on Sunday as off-hours
trading for U.S. equity markets resumed. .N
* The Japanese yen JPY= jumped to a more than three-year
high against the dollar, while U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury
yields fell to a record low. USD/ US/
* Japan's economy shrank faster than initially estimated in
the fourth quarter on a bigger decline in business spending,
data showed, casting a deeper shadow over the outlook as the
virus hit production and heightened recession risks.
* Mainland China had 40 new confirmed cases of infections on
Sunday, the National Health Commission said, taking the
country's total number of confirmed cases to 80,735.
* China's exports contracted sharply in the first two months
of the year while imports declined, data showed on Saturday, as
the health crisis triggered by the outbreak caused massive
disruptions to business operations, global supply chains and
economic activity. * The epidemic likely halved China's economic growth in the
current quarter compared with the previous three months, more
severe than thought three weeks ago and triggering expectations
for earlier interest rate cuts, a Reuters poll found.
* Italy's markets will open as usual on Monday, but traders
are expecting a wild start to the week after the government
ordered a lockdown of large parts of the north of the country on
Sunday, including the financial capital Milan, to fight the
virus. * Palladium XPD= fell 2.9% to $2,492.38 per ounce, while
platinum XPT= was down 1.2% to $890.41
* Silver XAG= gained 0.3% to $17.37 per ounce.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0700 Germany Industrial output MM (Jan)