By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Gold was up on Monday morning in Asia, after topping the $2,000-level for the first time in a year and a half. Investors turned to the safe-haven yellow metal as the Russian invasion of Ukraine intensifies and supply disruption fears saw palladium hit an all-time high.
Gold futures jumped 1.33% to $1,992.75 by 12:36 AM ET (5:36 AM GMT), after hitting its highest level since Aug. 19, 2021, or $2,000.69, earlier in the day.
"If this was risk aversion driven by the U.S. Federal Reserve as seen ahead of this war, that wasn't something that lifted gold as that risk aversion was about rising rates, which is not an environment in which gold does well," DailyFX currency strategist Ilya Spivak told Reuters.
"This risk aversion, however, is geopolitical, and so there seems to be a reflective demand for non-paper assets."
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, with President Vladimir Putin vowing to continue until Ukraine surrenders. Heavy fighting prevented around 200,000 people from being evacuated from the city of Mariupol for the second day in a row on Sunday.
Holdings of the SPDR Gold Trust (P:GLD) rose 0.4% to 1,054.3 tons on Friday, the highest since mid-March 2021. Spot gold could also keep rising towards $2,065 per ounce, driven by a powerful wave C, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.
Investors also await the European Central Bank’s policy decision, due later in the week.
In other precious metals, palladium jumped 4.3% to $3,130.16 per ounce, after hitting an all-time high of $3,172.22 earlier in the session. Russia accounts for 40% of global palladium production.
"We're looking at a very significant pick-up in concerns around the disruptions with Ukraine seemingly because the conflict is showing signs of broadening," DailyFX’s Spivak said, pointing to speculations about more Western sanctions and a potential formal ban on Russian oil imports.