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On this day — February 2, 2020
Chinese New Year: Chinese gold demand surges in the lead-up to Lunar New Year as families exchange gold pendants, rings and bars. Year-on-year, China's January–February gold imports run 30–50 percent above other months.
Sunday — the international gold market is closed. Spot quotes carry forward from the prior Friday close. Retail rates in jewellery markets may differ slightly based on local Sunday hours.
Day 33 of 366 · Q1 2020 · 9.0% through the year
February 2020 gold market: Calm before the COVID storm
VolatileSteady gains unwound in a sharp late-month risk-off.
For most of February gold drifted higher to around $1,640 as COVID-19 spread beyond China and bond yields fell. In the final days of the month, however, a violent global equity selloff dragged gold down too, as investors sold winning positions to raise cash — a preview of the liquidity scramble to come.
What drove gold in February 2020
- COVID-19 spreading globally
- collapsing bond yields
- late-month equity crash
- early dash-for-cash selling
Key events in February 2020
- Feb 24Global markets begin steep COVID selloff
- Feb 28Gold drops with stocks as funds raise cash
What happened next
The late-February cash scramble was a dress rehearsal for March's full-blown liquidity crisis.
For gold buyers
Gold's late-February dip showed that in a panic's first phase even safe havens fall as investors sell what they can, not what they want to.
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