Safe Havens Shine as Spreading Virus Spurs Rush to Buy Gold

  • With no sign of containment, risk-off sentiment sweeps markets
  • Investors add to holdings in gold-backed ETFs as prices climb

Photographer: Lisi Niesner/Bloomberg

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Gold jumped as the spread of the coronavirus globally spurred demand for haven assets.

Prices rose as much as 1.1% as risk-off sentiment swept markets, with equities and crude oil tumbling. In the latest attempt at containment, China extended the week-long Lunar New Year holiday and banned all outgoing overseas group tours to avoid having travelers contribute to its spread.