2020.04.2211:21:00UTC+00Gold Prices Rally As Oil Hits 21-year Low

Gold prices rose sharply on Wednesday amid safe-haven demand as oil prices slumped again, with Brent falling to the lowest since 1999, adding to global growth worries.

Spot gold rose about 1 percent to $1,702.13 per ounce, after having hit a near two-week low on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures were up 2.1 percent at 1,723.

Investors sought safe-havens as an unprecedented rout in the global crude oil markets exacerbated fears of a global recession.

Brent crude oil slumped to less than $16 a barrel on worries about excess supply and collapsing demand as the coronavirus pandemic disproportionately impacts different sectors of the global economy.

As lockdowns bite, the head of the United Nations food agency warned on Tuesday that a looming "hunger pandemic" will bring "the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II."

As businesses of all sizes face an extended period of economic uncertainty, global business leaders are preparing for a drawn-out U-shaped recession, a survey conducted last week by global CEO network YPO showed.

The global case tally for the coronavirus disease climbed to 2.58 million on Tuesday while the death toll rose to 178,096, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

The U.S. has the highest case toll in the world at 825,306 and the highest death toll at 45,075.

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday unanimously approved $484 billion in fresh relief to provide funding for a small business jobs program, hospitals hammered by the coronavirus pandemic, and national strategic testing.