Gold jumps more than 1% on crisis in Ukraine

Tuesday, 4 March 2014 01:15 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

REUTERS: Gold gained more than 1% on Monday on escalating geopolitical tensions as Ukraine mobilised for war after Russia bloodlessly seized Crimea, an isolated Black Sea peninsula where Moscow has a naval base. The Group of Seven major industrialised nations condemned Russia’s intrusion into Ukraine and cancelled preparations for the G8 summit, that includes Russia, scheduled for Sochi in June, the White House said. Cash and US gold futures hit an intraday high around $ 1,345 an ounce, with the United States threatening to isolate Russia economically in Moscow’s biggest confrontation with the West since the Cold War. Crude oil, which often dictates gold, hit multi-month highs. “I think there’s short-term support for gold because of the turmoil. I am looking to find out whether it will break a previous high of $ 1,361.60 touched in October last year,” said Joyce Liu, Investment Analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore. “I think if that level is broken, it will greatly encourage more buyers to come into the market because there might be a potential reversal of trend. I will keep watching on gold prices and see if it will continue to rise and close that level.” Cash gold rose as high as $ 1,344.80 an ounce on speculative buying driven by the turmoil in Ukraine and stood at $ 1,342.45 an ounce by 0244 GMT, up $ 16.66. It gained nearly 7% in February; the biggest monthly rise since July, mostly due to worries over economic weakness in China and the United States, as well as political and economic turmoil in Ukraine. US April gold futures, which often set the tone for cash gold, hit an intraday high of $ 1,345 an ounce and later stood at $ 1,342.60, up $ 21.00.

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