Meanwhile, advanced economies will shrink about 35 percent this quarter from the previous three months. The announcement in the countdown to spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank on Friday. In Europe, the French government said the economy was expected to contract 8 percent this year. Spot gold was up 0.3 percent to US$1,719.84 per ounce by the early evening having touched its highest since November 2012. In the oil market, Brent futures fell 8 cents, or 0.3 percent, to US$31.6 a barrel after settling at 0.8 percent up on Monday.

Source: The Standard April 14, 2020 19:07 UTC