Investing.com– Gold prices rose in Asian trade on Friday and were headed for a strong weekly gain as increased tensions between Russia and Ukraine sparked a broad rush into traditional safe havens.
The yellow metal rebounded sharply from two-month lows this week, mostly brushing off pressure from a stronger dollar and Treasury yields. But gold still remained well below record highs hit in late-October.
rose 0.7% to $2,688.70 an ounce, while expiring in December rose 0.6% to $2,690.70 an ounce by 00:25 ET (05:25 GMT).
Gold set for strong weekly gains on Russia-Ukraine fears
Spot gold was set to rise for a fifth straight session, and was trading up nearly 5% this week.
Safe haven demand for the yellow metal grew amid worsening tensions in the Russia-Ukraine war, especially as Moscow threatened nuclear retaliation over Ukraine’s use of Western-made long-range missiles.
Ukraine had struck against Russia with the missiles this week, which in turn saw Russia retaliate with an advanced hypersonic missile, which has the capability to carry a nuclear warhead.
Metal prices pressured by dollar strength
Gold largely outpaced other metals this week, as increased safe haven demand helped the yellow metal weather pressure from a stronger and Treasury yields.
The greenback shot up to a 13-month high this week, amid growing uncertainty over the Federal Reserve’s plans to cut interest rates further. Traders were also seen positioning for higher rates under a Donald Trump presidency, given that he is expected to enact more expansionary policies.
Precious metals and fell slightly on Friday, and were sitting on small gains for the week.
Industrial metals fared much worse, with copper prices hovering around 1-½ month lows.
Benchmark on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.3% to $9,011.50 a ton, while December fell 0.5% to $4.0915 a pound. Both contracts were set for mild gains this week, after logging seven straight weeks of heavy declines.
Copper was battered by increasing concerns over sluggish stimulus measures in China, which is the world’s biggest copper importer.