Today, gold prices rose as investors shunned risky assets after the United States announced a travel ban from virus-hit Europe, exacerbating fears of a global economic downturn.

Spot gold was up 0.2% to $1,638.35 per ounce at 09:37 GMT. U.S. gold futures fell 0.3% to $1,637.80.

European shares sank to their lowest in almost four years after the United States announced a 30-day restriction on travel from Europe’s 26-country Schengen Area – which excludes Britain and Ireland – in an attempt to halt the fast-spreading coronavirus.

“There has been a massive sell-out in equity markets (…) gold is profiting from the insecurity in the markets, the huge volatility and the price slump in stocks,” said Commerzbank analyst Eugen Weinberg.

“It seems as if coronavirus is the black swan of 2020 (…) most of the actions by authorities don’t seem to reassure markets. The market is being driven by the news and sentiment, which is very downbeat and cautious.” Commerzbank added.

Nevertheless, “Palladium is one of the riskier assets,” said Vandana Bharti, assistant vice-president of commodity research at SMC Comtrade, adding reduced demand from the automobile sector was weighing on the metal.

On the other hand, Silver fell 0.6% to $16.65, while platinum shed 0.5% to $855.30.