(Updates costs) * Japan prepares $990 bln stimulus bundle to melt financial blow * SPDR Gold holdings hit highest in additional than Three yrs on Friday By Sumita Layek April 6 (Reuters) - Gold costs surged over 2% to a extra than three-week excessive on Monday on expectations of world stimulus measures to counter the financial harm attributable to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. Spot gold was up 2.3% at $1,653.35 per ounce by 1:49 p.m. EDT (1749 GMT), having hit its highest stage since March 11 at $1,655.69 earlier within the session. U.S. gold futures settled 2.9% larger at $1,693.90. "Bodily demand continues to dominate and assist gold costs. Large quantities of stimulus are successfully diluting currencies so gold demand is coming from all instructions," mentioned Phil Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures in Chicago. The U.S. greenback stalled in opposition to most currencies however continued its rise versus the Japanese yen as the speed of deaths from coronavirus in Europe slowed whereas deaths in Japan and elsewhere in Asia accelerated. Japan is to impose a state of emergency in Tokyo and 6 different prefectures as early as Tuesday to comprise the coronavirus, whereas the federal government prepares a $990 billion stimulus bundle to melt the financial blow. The pandemic has contaminated greater than 1,250,000 folks round the world, with over 68,400 deaths, in keeping with a Reuters tally. The coronavirus is the European Union's greatest take a look at, German Chancellor Angela Merkel mentioned on Monday, including that it was necessary that the bloc emerges robust from the financial disaster unleashed by the pandemic. Governments and central banks all over the world have unleashed unprecedented fiscal and financial stimulus and different assist for economies floored by the coronavirus pandemic. "We expect the set-up for a multi-year bull market is being cemented because the market is awash with each financial and monetary stimulus whereas charges are on the zero sure," analysts at TD Securities mentioned in a observe. "Which suggests buyers will proceed to hunt gold's heat embrace as actual international charges change into entrenched in unfavourable territory." Reflecting investor sentiment, holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Belief , rose 0.7% to 978.99 tonnes on Friday - the best in additional than three years. In the meantime, the improved supply gold futures contract launched by CME Group Inc , enabling supply of 100-ounce, 400-ounce, or kilo bars, has additionally began buying and selling. Amongst different treasured metals, autocatalyst palladium was down 1.7% at $2,151.01 per ounce. Platinum gained 1.9% to $734.02 per ounce, whereas silver climbed 3.3% to $14.86 per ounce, having earlier hit its highest since March 16 at $14.91. (Reporting by Sumita Layek and Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru Modifying by Matthew Lewis and Marguerita Choy)
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