Gold prices jumped past the $1,700 per ounce level for the first time since late 2012 on Monday, as a widening coronavirus outbreak and a plunge in crude oil hammered equities and sent investors scurrying for safe havens.Spot gold XAU= rose 1.5% to $1,699.20 per ounce by 0054 GMT, having touched its highest since December 2012 at $1,702.45 earlier in the session.
* U.S. gold futures GCv1 jumped 1.6% to $1,699.70 per ounce.
* Asian equities sank as investors fled to bonds to hedge the economic shock of the coronavirus, and oil plunged more than 20% after Saudi Arabia slashed its official selling price.
