Earnings for gold amid fears of the situation in Ukraine

Gold futures closed higher on Wednesday after the United States said Russia was continuing to bring troops around Ukraine and as markets look forward to the release of minutes from the latest Federal Reserve policy meeting.

As Global X analyst Rohan Reddy puts it, “As risks rise globally, demand for gold could continue to rise as investors seek safe-haven assets in times of uncertainty.”

Gold for April delivery was up 0.8% at $ 1,871.5 an ounce.

“Gold attracts a wide range of investors seeking protection as they realize that this (Russian-Ukrainian) situation will not be resolved quickly,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA. “Gold has a long way to go. However, it will have some sell-offs due to the Fed’s more aggressive expectations for a tightening.”

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Wednesday that Russia had moved critical units closer to Ukraine’s border, despite Moscow’s insistence that it withdraw.

Rising geopolitical tensions and expectations of rising US interest rates have affected the financial market climate, prompting investors to seek safe havens such as gold.

Investors are now awaiting the release of the minutes from the US Federal Reserve meeting on January 25-26. They are expected to shed more light on the plans of policy makers to increase interest rates. The Fed will start its tightening cycle in March with a 25 basis point increase in the key interest rate, according to a Reuters poll.

Rising interest rates increase the opportunity cost of retaining gold that does not pay off.

Data released Wednesday showed U.S. retail sales rebounded sharply in January, but higher prices could mitigate the impact on economic growth this quarter.

In other metals, silver gained 0.6% to $ 23.49 per ounce, platinum gained 3.2% to $ 1,058.74 and palladium rose 1.7% to $ 2,284.73.