Gold futures climbed sharply on Monday, with concerns surrounding a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine boosting prices for the precious metal to their highest finish in nearly three months. “Comments from U.S. officials at the end of last week suggesting that an invasion of Ukraine by Russia was imminent, threw markets into a tailspin,” said David Russell, director of marketing at GoldCore. Equities sold off heavily and oil prices continued to rise, “giving gold the impetus to break upside resistance” at the $1,855 to $1,860 level. Further momentum buying continued Monday, but any “softening of the rhetoric” on the Ukraine/Russia situation will surely put a short-term bid back into equities and may cap oil’s run, which “could see gold falling back below resistance in the short term too,” he said. April gold rose $27.30, or 1.5%, to settle at $1,869.40 an ounce. Based on the most-active contract, prices logged their highest settlement since Nov. 17, FactSet data show.
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