On Wednesday (April 8), gold prices edged higher during U.S. trading hours, hovering around $1,650 per ounce. Rising coronavirus death tolls weighed on risk sentiment, while investors awaited the release of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting minutes for clues about further stimulus measures.

Over the course of the day, spot gold traded in a narrow range between $1,640 and $1,660 per ounce, hitting a high of $1,671.40 on Tuesday—the highest level since March 10.

“Gold has remained relatively stable, as the market anxiously awaits the outcome of the OPEC meeting, which could go either way. On the other hand, we cannot yet say that the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe and the United States has subsided or come to an end; uncertainty persists,” noted Xiao Fu, an international analyst at Bank of China (601988, stock forum).

“Market participants are still awaiting the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes for any hints of a next round of stimulus measures. We are currently in a period of extreme volatility, and policy surprises cannot be ruled out.”

European stock markets ended a two-day rally as coronavirus death tolls rose in some of the hardest-hit regions on the continent.

According to real-time data from Worldometers, more than 1.45 million people worldwide have been infected with the novel coronavirus, including 83,585 deaths.

New York State, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, reported its largest single-day increase in deaths, while Spain saw its daily death toll rise for the first time in five days.

The outbreak of the pandemic prompted countries to extend lockdowns and implement unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus measures to mitigate economic losses.

On Tuesday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency in response to the outbreak and unveiled an economic stimulus package worth nearly $1 trillion to mitigate the blow to the economy.

Margaret Yang Yan, an analyst at CMC Markets, stated: “In the medium to long term, gold prices are expected to rise due to quantitative easing and monetary stimulus measures implemented by central banks worldwide.”

However, the dollar’s safe-haven rally capped gold’s gains, with the U.S. Dollar Index rising 0.2%.

The market is awaiting the release of the latest Federal Reserve meeting minutes, scheduled for 2:00 a.m. Beijing time on Thursday, which could provide further guidance on the interest-rate outlook.

Equally noteworthy is Thursday’s meeting of OPEC member states and their allies, including Russia. The meeting may result in further production cuts to boost oil prices, which have plummeted due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Commenting on the performance of precious metals, Todd Horwitz, Chief Market Strategist at BubbaTrading.com, wrote that on Tuesday, gold, silver, and platinum all appeared poised to rally—only for conditions to take a sharp turn for the worse. After reaching intraday highs and posting recent record levels in overnight trading, metal prices began to decline. All three peaked Monday evening and continued to slide on Tuesday.

Horwitz noted that June gold futures at one point climbed to $1,742, only to dip as low as $1,670 during Tuesday’s session. Silver prices rose to $16 before retreating, while platinum prices remained steady. For accounts that had gone long on these metals, no significant technical damage was incurred.

Horwitz stated that nothing has changed; we remain fully long and expect to reach new highs once again. In fact, we anticipate gold prices will hit yet another record high and continue to rise. Any sell-offs may be healthy and part of the market’s natural cycle. Until further notice, they appear likely to keep climbing.