Gold Jumps More Than 2%

On Wednesday, Ukraine called its citizens back from Russia and declared a state of emergency. While, Moscow began evacuating its Kyiv embassy, in the latest ominous signs for Ukrainians who fear an all-out Russian military onslaught, as per Reuters.

Gold prices jumped more than 2% to their highest level in more than a year as investors turned to safe havens after the start of the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces, following orders from President Vladimir Putin to carry out what he described as a special military operation.

By 0611 GMT, gold rose in spot transactions by 1.7 percent to $ 1939.97 an ounce, after reaching its highest level since January 2021 at $ 1948.77 an ounce.

US gold futures rose 1.8 percent to $1,943.90 an ounce.

Officials and media said that Russian forces fired missiles at several Ukrainian cities and landed troops on the country’s southern coast.

Gold, a safe haven asset in times of turmoil, has risen about 8 percent since the beginning of February as the Russia-Ukraine crisis affected risk appetite. The precious metal is heading towards recording its best monthly performance since July 2020.

As for other precious currencies, silver increased in spot transactions 2.1 percent to $ 25.03 an ounce. Platinum rose one percent to $1,102.43 an ounce, while palladium rose 1.3 percent to $2,514.54 an ounce.