Gold prices kicked off the start of the week trading higher on Monday, trading close to a six-month high after the referendum on Sunday which showed that Crimea’s voters decided to split from Ukraine and become part of the Russian Federation, increasing the tension between the two countries and increasing the demand for the metal as safe haven.
Gold futures added 0.39% to $1,384.50 an ounce at the time of writing, after climbing to a six-month high of $1392.60, an ounce earlier in the session, while futures for silver climbed 0.19% higher to $21.455 an ounce.
Holdings in the world’s largest bullion-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust; came in at 816.59 tons on Friday.
Gold – Crimea Referendum
Sunday’s referendum revealed that the Crimea peninsula backed leaving Ukraine to join Russia, with a total of 95.5% of the voters in the region agreeing to join the Russian Federation. However, the Ukrainian government and the Western nations considered the referendum illegal, raising fears and concerns of an international backlash with Russia.
US President Barack Obama has signed an order authorizing financial sanctions on Russia, which would permit Treasury Secretary Jacob J.Lew to freeze assets and block any business relationships between American companies and Russia.
The US Secretary of John Kerry said the referendum would not be accepted by the US and warned to expect sanctions, while European Union foreign ministers are expected to decide on similar consequences against the nation later in the day.
Gold – Fed Meeting
The market will be focusing on the Federal Reserve (Fed) March policy meeting, which will commence on Tuesday and end on Wednesday, as analysts are expecting the central bank to continue to trim down its asset purchases further.
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