Gold falls as investors take stock of Ukraine crisis

Bengaluru — Gold slid from the $2,000 mark on Tuesday as investors paused to reassess the Russia-Ukraine conflict after talks hardly advanced, with a strong US dollar weighing further on the safe-haven metal.

Spot gold was down 0.5% at $1,988.78 an ounce by 4.47am GMT, after scaling an 18-month peak of $2,002.40 on Monday. US gold futures were down 0.2% to $1,992.40. Holdings of the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust, rose 0.8% to 1,062.7 tonnes on Monday, their highest since March 2021.

“It’s not simply a case of the West turning a switch and banning Russian imports. It’s going to take a lot longer than that. So markets are readjusting, absorbing all the information,” said Matt Simpson, a senior market analyst at City Index. “There’s a little bit less demand for gold, but at the same time it’s not really giving back its gains.”

Russian negotiators said they did not have positive developments to report after talks with Ukraine.

The dollar index held close to a 21-month peak hit on Monday, making gold less attractive for holders of other currencies, after news of a potential US oil import ban on Russia.

Spot gold may retest a resistance at $1,999 an ounce, a break above could lead to a gain at $2,028, according to Reuters’ technical analyst Wang Tao.

Palladium was up 0.7% to $3,019.22 an ounce, but was off a high of $3,440.76 scaled on Monday. The autocatalyst metal prices have rocketed 80% this year to highs as financial sanctions on Russia could disrupt shipments and worsen a supply shortage.

Among other metals, spot silver fell 0.7% to $25.47 an ounce, while platinum rose 0.7% to $1,130.78. 

Reuters