2020.02.2710:11:00UTC+00Gold Inches Higher As Coronavirus Outbreak Spreads

Gold prices rose slightly on Thursday as investors fretted about the coronavirus outbreak turning into a worldwide pandemic. Hopes of interest rate cuts by major central banks also offered some support.

Spot gold rose half a percent to $1,647.42 per ounce, after having risen more than 1 percent in intraday trade on Wednesday. U.S. gold futures were up 0.4 percent at $1,649.65.

Fears grow over a coronavirus pandemic as the total number of coronavirus cases continued to grow across the world.

Microsoft joined iPhone maker Apple Inc. and PC company HP Inc. in reducing its forward estimates, citing supply-chain disruptions related to the coronavirus.

The United States and South Korea postponed joint military drills today as the number of infections outside China, the source of the outbreak, for the first time surpassed those appearing in the country.

Officials are scrambling to contain the outbreak in Italy, which has reported 12 deaths and 400 confirmed cases in Europe's worst outbreak of the virus.

More than 18 cases of the virus have been confirmed in both Germany and France, while two French patients have died from the disease.

U.S. health authorities have warned of the potential for a pandemic, but President Donald Trump played down the risks and named Vice President Mike Pence to coordinate the government's response to the coronavirus.

Investors are pinning hopes that central banks will certainly take action if the virus continues to spread, particularly outside China.