World gold prices on Thursday (3/19) rose after being down in the previous session. This was driven by the European central bank policy to reduce the negative impact of the coronavirus on the economy.

Reporting from Reuters, the price of gold in the spot market rose 0.4% to the US $ 1,491.4 per ounce. While Bloomberg data on Thursday (3/19) at 08.32 WIB, the price of gold rose 0.2% to the US $ 1,488.97 per ounce.

Antam's gold price dropped Rp 12 thousand to Rp 814 thousand per gram. While the resale price at 08.29 in the Pulo Gadung Gold Boutique fell by Rp 13 thousand to Rp 732 thousand per gram.

The European central bank poured 750 billion euros or around the US $ 818 billion on Wednesday (18/3) to reduce borrowing costs amid the economic collapse due to the coronavirus. The capital market responded quite well.

Capital markets in Asia struggle to stabilize. While the United States capital market turned positive. This is caused by the existence of a COVID-19 pandemic that spread almost all over the country and threatens various sectors of the country's economy.

Asset Sales Due to COVID-19 Pandemic Causing Precious Metal Drops

Even so, the price of gold is still below the highest level of US $ 1,700 per ounce on March 10, 2020. The price of gold fell more than 12% or the US $ 200 after rising past the US $ 1,700 per ounce.

This was influenced by the spread of the coronavirus which had an impact on the global economy. The virus called Covid-19 has so far infected more than 205 thousand people and killed more than 8,200 people worldwide.

Market players sell their assets because the coronavirus pandemic has plummeted the price of precious metals. The price of gold is even below the average price in the last 200 days and indicates a downtrend.

Based on Bloomberg data on Tuesday (17/3) at 07.09 WIB, the price of gold in the spot market fell the US $ 5.97 to the US $ 1,508.13 per ounce. While the price of Antam's gold today dropped Rp 18 thousand to Rp 801 thousand per gram.

Meanwhile, the resale price of Antam's gold at Pulo Gadung Boutique today at 08.29 West Indonesia Time decreased by Rp 22 thousand to Rp 719 thousand per gram.

Panic Investors As a Result of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Precious Metal Sales Spread

Coronavirus pandemic makes investors panic to sell precious metals to get cash. Moreover, the global capital markets fell and oil prices slipped up to 8%. "We see market participants and investors selling every asset arbitrarily. People sell gold and silver for equity positions or other situations," said High Ridge Futures Trading Director of Metals David Meger as quoted by Reuters on Friday (13/3).

The fall in the price of precious metals joined the broader market sell-off as US government bond yields fell, the stock market plummeted, and oil prices fell 10%. This was triggered by the coronavirus pandemic which continued to spread rapidly.

Some investors are required to sell assets to cover margin calls. "This is a search for cash for sustainable liquidity. Everything is sold, market participants surrender, and when everyone wants to come out there is a massive sell-off," Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch said referring to Precious metal price groups as quoted by Reuters on Tuesday (3/17)

So far, the coronavirus has claimed more than 6,500 lives worldwide. The pandemic of the virus has sparked panic in all markets, prompting central banks around the world to set up supportive measures to ease the economic collapse.

On the physical demand side, activities remained subdued in major Asian countries last week amid a coronavirus outbreak, especially in China which is the world's biggest gold consumer. Even so, funds traded on the SPDR Gold Trust stock exchange fell to 931.59 tons on Friday (13/3).