NEW YORK: Gold prices extended gains to a three-month peak as concerns around the Russia-Ukraine conflict supported bullion’s safe-haven appeal and sparked fears of supply disruption in the palladium market.
Spot gold was up 0.1 percent to $1,861.20 per ounce after hitting its highest level since Nov. 18. US gold futures gained 1.2 percent to $1,864.70.
“We got a flight to safety going into gold at the moment as equity markets are selling off. We also have a lot of big economic data coming out this week, and the main focus is inflation,” said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.
US stock indexes continued their slide on worries over a higher interest rate environment and after the US warned Russia might create a surprise pretext for an attack on Ukraine.
“We believe any further escalation of the situation will deter the Fed from raising interest rates by 50 basis points in March, as this could spark excessive turmoil on the financial markets,” Commerzbank said in a note.
Non-yielding gold is considered a hedge against higher inflation. Markets now await producer prices data for January and minutes from the US central bank’s January monetary policy meeting later this week.
Palladium rose 1.4 percent to $2,338.57 per ounce, having hit an over two-week peak earlier in the session.
Russia is one of the world’s largest palladium-producing countries, and any escalation in its conflict with Ukraine could lead to supply disruptions, analysts said.
“It looks like the percentage of palladium they export as a percentage of the global production is pretty close to 50percent," said Saxo Bank Analyst Ole Hansen. He added that the metal was extremely exposed to any supply reduction from Russia if tensions with Ukraine increased.
Silver rose 0.7 percent to $23.73 per ounce, while platinum was little changed at $1,026.50.
