PRECIOUS-Gold surges as recession fears spur safe-haven buying

(Updates prices)
* Stocks slide as coronavirus threat remains intense
* Perth Mint's March gold sales hit close to seven-year high
* SPDR Gold Trust holdings up 0.3%
* Global coronavirus death toll more than 38,000
By Brijesh Patel
April 1 (Reuters) - Gold jumped more than 1.5% on Wednesday
as investors continued to seek safe havens on mounting concern
that the near-global lockdown to fight the coronavirus pandemic
would spark a deep economic downturn.
Spot gold XAU= was up 0.7% at $1,582.54 an ounce by 1241
GMT, rebounding from a 3.1% slump in the previous session. U.S.
gold futures GCcv1 gained 0.1% to $1,598.00.
"Gold once again underpinned its status as a safe haven
during the current corona crisis," Julius Baer analyst Carsten
Menke said in a note, adding that constraints to global air
travel and the closure of gold refineries are showing up in
price premiums.
"As the global recession unfolds and as uncertainties remain
very high in financial markets, we still see more upside than
downside for gold," he said.
Financial markets and oil prices tumbled in the first
trading session of the quarter as the pandemic and the prospect
of a global recession tore through investor confidence.
MKTS/GLOB
Gold is often used as a safe store of value during times of
political and financial uncertainty and tends to appreciate on
expectations of lower interest rates, which reduce the
opportunity cost of holding it.
Central banks have rolled out fiscal and monetary measures
in an effort to limit economic damage from the coronavirus,
which has infected more than 851,000 people and forced lockdowns
across the globe. On the supply side, three of the world's largest gold
refineries said they had suspended production in Switzerland for
at least a week after local authorities ordered the closure of
non-essential industry. The dollar .DXY also marched higher against major
currencies, gaining more than 0.6%. USD/
On Tuesday the U.S. Federal Reserve broadened the ability of
dozens of foreign central banks to access dollars during the
crisis by allowing them to exchange their holdings of U.S.
Treasury securities for overnight dollar loans. Reflecting investor interest in bullion, the Perth Mint's
gold product sales in March soared to their highest in about
seven years, it said on Wednesday. Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.3% to 967 tonnes on
Tuesday. GOL/ETF
Elsewhere, platinum XPT= dropped 1.6% to $710.65 an ounce,
palladium XPD= slipped 0.6% to $2,338.09 and silver XAG= was
steady at $13.97.