Gold Rate Today: Bullion mixed amid mounting coronavirus death toll

Bullion counters were trading on a mixed note in Friday’s session as mounting death toll due to coronavirus in China pushed prices higher, while buzz of government actions to mitigate the risk put pressure.

China's National Health Commission said it had recorded 121 new deaths and 5,090 new coronavirus cases on the mainland on February 13, taking the accumulated total infected to 63,851 people.



Gold futures were down 0.12 per cent at Rs 40,608 per 10 grams while silver edged 0.05 per cent higher to Rs 45,820 per 1 kg.

Brokerage SMC Global said bullion counters can remain on a firm path. Gold can move towards Rs 40,800 while taking support near Rs 40,400 while silver can improve towards Rs 46,100 while taking support near Rs 45,500, it added.

Globally, gold eased from an over one-week peak on Friday as risk sentiment improved on hopes of global measures to soften the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

Spot gold was down 0.1 per cent at $1,574.69 per ounce, having touched its highest since February 4 at $1,577.89 earlier in the session. US gold futures also slipped 0.1 per cent to $1,577.80.

A Reuters technical analyst said spot gold may rise to $1,589 per ounce, as suggested by a retracement analysis.

The consolidation from the January 8 high of $1,610.90 has been shaped into a triangle, which looks like a bullish continuation pattern, as it developed after an uptrend.

Gold is often used as a safe store of value during times of political and financial uncertainty.

Elsewhere, palladium rose 0.6 per cent to $2,438.78 per ounce, silver gained 0.1 per cent to $17.65, while platinum was up 0.3 per cent at $970.92.