Silver shrugs off Coronavirus fears, closes lower

Silver prices fell on Monday, in contrast with the uptrend in other precious metals, such as gold, as the yellow metal's safe-haven appeal rose amid mounting fears over the outbreak of the Coronavirus.

China revealed that the Coronavirus has claimed more than 80 victims and 2,800 infected cases, with hundreds in critical condition and more to expected.

Multiple other countries including the US, Australia, Japan and France have revealed confirmed cases of the virus.

Otherwise, the US Federal Reserve will launch its meeting on Tuesday and will continue until Wednesday to unveil its interest rate decision amid widespread forecasts to be kept unchanged.

The dollar index rose against a basket of major currencies by 0.1% to 97.9 points at 21:46 GMT, after hitting a high of 98.00 and a low of 97.7.

Silver March futures fell 0.3% to close at $18.056 an ounce, with a day high of $18.375 and a low of $18.04.