Gold continues to flirt with multi-year highs, and there's more to it than coronavirus

CNBC-- "Gold prices slipped slightly on Monday after China pumped cash into its economy, but the metal continues to flirt with multi-year highs. While stocks, oil, some base metals and other risk assets sold off sharply last week in response to demand fears arising from the rapid spread of the coronavirus, safe-haven gold gained just over 1% from Monday through to Friday. Gold has risen 4% so far this year already and hit its highest level since April 2013 early last month, as investors fled risk assets following a spike in tensions between the U.S. and Iran....The coronavirus outbreak has triggered further risk sell-offs, but is not alone in providing a lift to the gold price, according to BullionRock Managing Director Robin Newbould. 'In 2019, pre-virus, gold gained circa 20% thanks to low global economic forecasts, low-to-negative interest rates, expectations of a weaker U.S. dollar, trade wars and possible real wars. All pretty miserable stuff, now we think about it, but no barrier to generating positive, non-correlated returns that hold their own when compared to other assets,' he told CNBC via email on Monday. 'Little wonder then that central banks purchased a record $15.7bn of gold in the first six months of last year.'"