Gold and silver prices in India edged higher today as global rates firmed amid the coronavirus scare. On MCX, gold futures prices were up 0.66% to ₹40,618 per 10 gram, extending gains to the second session. Gold prices are now just ₹700 shy of record highs of ₹41,293, hit earlier this month. Silver rates today saw a sharper gain, rising 0.83% to ₹45,931 per kg. Gold can move higher towards ₹40,700 while taking support near ₹40,250 while silver can test ₹46,300 while taking support near ₹45,700, SMC Global said in a note.

In global markets, gold prices inched up on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve said the new coronavirus outbreak could hurt China’s economy in the short term.

Spot gold prices were up marginally to $1,578.05 per ounce, after strong gains in the previous session. Among other precious metals, palladium rose 0.7% to $2,305.21 an ounce, silver gained 0.3% to $17.58, while platinum climbed 0.2% to $975.70.

Overnight, the US Federal Reserve, as expected, held rates steady but its Chair Jerome Powell said the coronavirus outbreak is may have some some effects on the Chinese economy, at least in the short term.

The World Health Organization is meeting again today to decide whether the new virus from China constitutes a global emergency as the death toll touched 170.

Indicative of the risk-averse sentiment across the gold, holdings of the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust, rose 0.45% to 903.50 tonnes on Wednesday.

Back in India, high prices have hurt gold demand and it may not show any significant growth as consumers will take time to adjust to higher prices, a top official of World Gold Council told Bloomberg.