Gold heading to $2,000? Prices surge on global fear

CNN BUSINESS "Gold was one of the few investments heading higher Monday as worries about the coronavirus outbreak led to a steep market slide. Gold is now up more than 20% in the past year, and trading near $1,600 an ounce, its highest level since 2013. Other precious metals, such as silver and platinum, have rallied too...Some experts wonder if gold could top $2,000 in the not-too-distant future. Gold last hit an all-time high of just above $1,900 in 2011 in the midst of the European debt crisis...The CNN Business Fear & Greed Index, which measures market sentiment, has plunged in the past week and is now not far from showing levels of fear. The index was in Extreme Greed territory just a week ago. 'There are a lot of things that could go wrong for the stock market and the economic impact of a China slowdown from the coronavirus could be felt globally,' said David Beahm, president and CEO of Blanchard & Company. But gold had been doing well even before most people had ever heard of the coronavirus....'A 5% to 10% allocation in gold and gold stocks makes sense,' says Ralph Aldis, a portfolio manager with US Global Investors. 'This is the nascent start of a gold rally.'....'The Fed and other central banks have been pouring money into the market. With money flow driving stocks instead of earnings, that makes people more jittery,' Aldis said."