Yahoo Finance Gold Prices Steady as China Cuts Benchmark Rate to Support Economy
By Alex Ho
Investing.com - Gold prices steadied on Thursday in Asia as China said its cutting its benchmark lending rate to prop up the economy.
Gold Futures for April delivery was little changed at $1,611.15 by 1:25 AM ET (05:25 GMT).
On Thursday, the People’s Bank of China said its one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was lowered by 10 basis points to 4.05% from 4.15% at the previous monthly fixing.
The five-year LPR was lowered by 5 basis points to 4.75% from 4.80%.
The decisions came as a new coronavirus outbreak, which has caused over 2,000 deaths in the country and almost 75,000 infections, caused widespread disruption to businesses and factory activity in China.
Gold has gained more than 6% so far this year amid concerns about the economic impact caused by the virus. Following this week’s gains, the yellow metal is now near its high level since February 2013.
Meanwhile, minutes from the latest U.S. Federal Reserve meeting showed that officials indicated they could leave rates unchanged for many months.
Gold prices, and the U.S. dollar, were little moved by the news.
The U.S. dollar index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies was little changed at 99.642.
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