Title: Gold Up, Hits Near Nine-Month High Over “Imminent” Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Feb 24, 2022 12:08AM ET

By: AnalysisWatch

Gold prices rose in Asia on Thursday morning after hitting a nine-month high earlier in the week. Investors turned to safe-haven assets after Ukraine declared a state of emergency and Russia sent troops to eastern Ukraine.

Gold futures were up 0.66% at $1,671.75 at 12:03 a.m. ET, after reaching $1,913.89 on Tuesday, their highest level since June 1, 2021.

Separatists in Ukraine's Donbas asked for Russian help in repelling "aggression" on Wednesday. Ukraine responded by introducing conscription and imposing a state of emergency.

For its part, the West reacted with sanctions against Russia. The USA joined Germany's sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which connects Germany with Russia.

The Russian rouble plunged more than 3% after the European Union blacklisted Russian lawmakers by freezing their assets and imposing a travel ban. Global stocks fell after Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the green light for a military operation in eastern Ukraine later in the day.

In Asia-Pacific, the Bank of Korea left its interest rate unchanged at 1.25% as it announced its policy decision later in the day.

In other precious metals, palladium was little changed at $2,483.51, remaining near its six-month high reached on Wednesday.

Russia is the world's third-largest gold producer, and Nornickel is also a major producer of palladium and platinum. In 2021, Russia produced 2.6 million troy ounces of palladium or 40% of global mine output. It also produced 641,000 ounces of platinum, which is about 10% of total mine production.

Silver and platinum increased slightly by 0.10%.