By Alex Ho
Investing.com - Gold prices were on the rise Thursday morning in Asia, with investors turning to the yellow metal as fears of a global recession grew.
Gold Futures rose 0.48% to $1,485 by 10:24 PM ET (2:24 GMT) as equity investors continue to be unimpressed with efforts of governments worldwide to contain the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic.
As fears of a recession grow, the European Central Bank announced a €750 billion ($821.23 billion) Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme on Wednesday that will purchase securities to support European economies in the midst of outbreaks.
The U.S. Senate also overwhelmingly passed on Wednesday a COVID-19 relief bill to inject billions of dollars to fight the novel coronavirus. It is simultaneously working on another $1.3 trillion third phase plan, according to Bloomberg.
In Asia, the Australian government announced a gain of 26,7000 jobs in February, higher than analyst predictions of 10,000. The unemployment rate fell to 5.1%, lower than the predicted 5.3%.
However, analysts were cautious on gold as prices stay below the $1,500 mark.
Edward Moya, Oanda senior market analyst, said in a Wednesday note that gold “will remain volatile over the next few sessions as investors await to see if the Trump administration is unable to quickly pass its massive stimulus plan.”
“If we see a repeat of the financial crisis when Congress was ineffective in acting swiftly, the scramble for cash will continue,” Moya said.