2020.03.1818:27:00UTC+00Gold Futures Settle Near 3-month Lows

Gold prices drifted down sharply on Wednesday as traders looked to liquidate positions, preferring to sit on cash, and to meet margin requirements due to falling equities, amid mounting worries about the economic impact of the coronavirus spread.

The dollar's sharp uptick on safe-haven appeal weighed as well on the commodity.

The dollar index rose to 101.74 and was last seen at 101.54, up almost 2% from Tuesday's close.

Gold futures for April ended down $47.90, or about 3.1%, at $1,477.90 an ounce, the lowest settlement in about three months.

On Tuesday, gold futures for April ended up $39.30, or 2.6%, at $1,525.80 an ounce, after plunging to a low of $1,465.60 an ounce early on in the session.

Silver futures for May ended down $0.723 at $11.772 an ounce, while Copper futures for May settled at $2.1510 per pound, down $0.1625 from previous close.

On Tuesday, European leaders agreed to close the European Union's external borders for 30 days in a new effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

After the Federal Reserve's sharp rate cuts and the launch of an emergency effort to enable big and reputed companies to access funding, the Trump administration on Tuesday pressed for an enactment of a $1 trillion stimulus package that could deliver $1,000 cheques to Americans within two weeks to buttress an economy hit by the virus outbreak.

Various other governments and central banks too have announced measures to help tide over the crisis plaguing the economies due to the Covid-19 spread.