Coronavirus pushes gold to heights

When crises and plagues strike the planet, gold is propelled to heights. The coronavirus epidemic is no exception and confirms the role of safe haven for the yellow metal: on February 21, the ounce of gold reached its highest point in seven years, at $ 1,643.30. The value of the precious metal has increased by 5% since the start of the health crisis at the end of January. If it reports nothing other than the capital gain realized on its disposal, it remains highly valued when an increased risk weighs on the other asset classes.

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According to IMF director Kristalina Georgieva, the virus that has appeared in China is clearly "jeopardizing the recovery of the global economy" . But other factors contribute to pushing up the yellow metal: the growing demand from central banks, the trade war, Brexit, geopolitical tensions. The American bank Citigroup estimates that an ounce of gold could reach up to $ 1,700 within a year and exceed $ 2,000 within two years.

The precious metal is not the only value to act as a haven when the economic context darkens. The yen can play this role. But Japan is the second country in the world most affected by the epidemic. The Japanese currency has declined since the end of January, partially offset by a slight recovery since February 18.

Bitcoin, on the other hand, is emerging as a new safe haven, and is taking full advantage of the health crisis. On February 10, it crossed $ 10,000, its highest level since September 2019. It peaked at $ 10,522 before dropping again. The famous cryptocurrency has been on an upward trajectory since the beginning of January, also driven by tensions with Iran. Equity markets have so far been quite resilient to the health and geopolitical challenges of the planet. The Dow Jones peaked at 29,569 points on February 12, before dropping 1.9% since then. As for the CAC 40, in Paris, it was still above 6000 points at the end of last week.