Gold eases as drop in virus cases lifts risk appetite

Gold prices eased on Wednesday after crossing the key $1,600 level in the previous session, as global shares climbed in cautious trade following a slight dip in new coronavirus cases, while palladium hit a fresh peak on supply issues.

Reuters

February 19, 2020 / 08:32 IST

Gold prices eased on Wednesday after crossing the key $1,600 level in the previous session, as global shares climbed in cautious trade following a slight dip in new coronavirus cases, while palladium hit a fresh peak on supply issues.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,600.67 per ounce, as of 0037 GMT. In the previous session, bullion prices surged 1.3% to their highest since Jan. 8 at $1,605.10.

* U.S. gold futures remained unchanged at $1,603.60.

* New coronavirus cases in the Chinese province at the epicentre of the outbreak fell for a second straight day to 1,693, but deaths rose after the World Health Organization had cautioned there was not yet enough data to know if the epidemic had slowed.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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