By Alex Ho
Investing.com - Prices of the safe-haven gold traded lower on Friday after the World Health Organization (WHO) expressed in China’s ability to control the virus outbreak. China’s positive PMI data also pushed gold prices lower.
Gold Futures were down 0.7% to $1,572.27 by 1:22 AM ET (05:22 GMT).
The WHO declared on Thursday that the coronavirus epidemic in China now constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. However, the organization noted that travel and trade ban is not necessary, while Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised China’s handling of the outbreak.
Zhang Ming, a government economist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said on Wednesday that China’s economic growth may drop to 5 percent or even lower this year due to the coronavirus.
On the other hand, IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said China and the rest of the world could rebound quickly in its aftermath, as noticed during the 2002-2003 SARS contagion, which also originated in China.