Gold Down, Hopes Rise for Ukraine Conflict Resolution
Investing.com
Published Mar 18, 2022 12:25AM ET
By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Gold was down on Friday morning in Asia, easing towards its biggest weekly drop since late November 2021. Hopes that progress in ceasefire talks between Ukraine and Russia dented the yellow metal’s safe-haven appeal.
Gold futures were down 0.40% to $1,935.40 by 12:24 AM ET (4:24 AM GMT), dropping around 2.4% in the week to date.
"The reality is that as the concerns about the outlook for Ukraine eased, so did the gold price and talks this week of the 15-point peace plan and potential for agreement between Russia and Ukraine has seen prices come off," Tiger Brokers chief strategy officer Michael McCarthy told Reuters.
"To some extent, the U.S. dollar has been an important factor and one of the things that pulled back gold from that attempt at the all-time highs."
Russia appeared to have stalled its advance on Ukrainian cities after its invasion on Feb. 24. Officials from the two countries met again for peace talks, however, progress was limited.
"Certainly a quarter-point lifting rates was expected, but what wasn't expected was six more increases over the course of 2022. This is a hawkish statement from the U.S. Federal Reserve," said McCarthy. He was referring to the central bank’s interest rate to 0.5% as it handed down its policy decision on Wednesday.
Across the Atlantic, the Bank of England hiked its interest rates to 0.75% as it handed down its policy decision on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan kept its interest rate steady at -0.10% as it handed down its policy decision earlier in the day.
In other precious metals, palladium jumped 2.7% but was set for a second consecutive weekly fall of about 8%. Silver was down 0.3% and was set for its first weekly dip in seven. Platinum was flat at $1,021.62 but was set for a weekly dip of 5%, the biggest since November 2021.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Investing.com
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.