Gold erased early gains to fall more than 1% on Wednesday as mounting fears over the economic hit from the coronavirus overshadowed additional stimulus measures by the United States and prompted investors to sell precious metals to hoard cash.

Spot gold fell 1.1% to $1,511.72 per ounce by 07:01 GMT. U.S. gold futures were down 0.9% to $1,512.10 an ounce.

“The fact that equity markets are still falling is signalling deteriorating global sentiment, which means more investors are going for cash,” said Michael McCarthy, chief strategist at CMC Markets.

“Globally, we are lengthening our expectations of how long the economic interruptions from the virus will last and that’s another reason driving people to cash,” Michael McCarthy added.

U.S. stock futures and several Asian shares fell in choppy trade as worries about the virus eclipsed hopes broad policy support would combat the economic fallout of the outbreak.

Among other precious metals, palladium fell 0.7% to $1,631.42 per ounce, while platinum eased 0.1% to $660.75. Silver was 1.2% lower at $12.44.