By Alex Ho
Gold prices were a little higher Tuesday morning in Asia after big falls a day earlier that matched the plummeting in equities and oil prices.
Gold Futures gained 0.55% to $1,494.70 by 10:56 PM ET (2:56 GMT) on Tuesday, up from their close of $1,486.50 on Monday.
Gold plunged below the $1,500 mark even after U.S. stock markets suffered their worst drop in more than three decades Monday. All major indices recorded double digit losses despite an unprecedented global effort by central banks to stave off recession.
Even Sunday’s announcement of a U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cut to nearly zero and a $700 billion stimulus package, on top of a $1.5 trillion injection announced on Friday, failed to improve investor confidence.
“The markets are in panic mode,” Alexander Zumpfe, a trader at Heraeus Metals Germany told Bloomberg. “The interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve has not changed this - on the contrary.”
Although prices for the yellow metal were expected to recover with the economic turbulence, investors are parting with even safe-haven commodities.
“The traditional rules are out of order and there is nothing which can be classified as safe haven -- not even gold,” Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Ava Trade told Bloomberg.
