GOLD AND CRUDE OIL TALKING POINTS: Gold prices made new 7-year highs as haven assets continued to find favor Chinese import and export numbers beat gloomy forecasts Crude oil held up, but massive production cuts have not seen an upside range break yet Gold prices pushed on to new seven-year highs on Tuesday as investors continued to fret about the global economic hit dealt by the coronavirus even as Chinese economic data came in less weakly than expected. In US Dollar terms exports fell by 6.6% on the year in March, while imports slipped by 0.9%. This was in both cases much less than forecasts which centred on respective falls of 13.9% and 9.8%. While these numbers may suggest that supply chains are holding up better than economists had feared, it remains likely that the full extent of the demand collapse seen in western economies now to varying extents locked down has yet to show up in the data. The US Congress struggled to come up with a new relief bill on Monday with the Republicans and Democrats in standoff. The budget deficit is now forecast to balloon and anxious eyes are being cast are the dawning corporate earnings season. Meanwhile the International Monetary Fund said on Monday that it would provide immediate relief to 25 member nations under its catastrophe relief program. Given all of the above a continued strong haven bid into gold is unsurprising and, indeed can be clearly seen. The metal is now at its highest since November 2012, with its all-time peaks now in the bulls’ sights.