Gold futures jumped above $2,000 an ounce on Tuesday, extending its rise toward its highest price since August of 2020 as the war in Ukraine fueled bids for safe haven assets like bullion.
Meanwhile, palladium prices were running near an all-time high as the Ukrainian crisis in its second week, prompted a surge higher in the broad commodity complex.
April gold GCJ22, 2.47% GC00, 2.45% rose $18.90, or 1%, to $2,015.20 an ounce, following a 1.5% advance on Monday, which has put bullion at around the highest level in about 18 months, hitting a Tuesday peak at $2,027.80.Gold Continuous ContractSource: FactSetAs of March 8, 9:56 a.m. ETApril 2020’21’221,4001,5001,6001,7001,8001,9002,000$2,100
Despite the rally in gold, some market participants are skeptical about the continued upside in the precious metals. At least one strategist speculated that restrictions on purchasing crypto, such as bitcoin, would prompt Russia’s central bank to dump a chunk of its reserves of gold to get cash.
“The Bank of Russia, for the most part, has no other means but to sell off the gold from its reserves in Russia. These steps could be taken tomorrow, as Monday and Tuesday were national holidays [in Russia],” wrote Alex Kuptsikevich, a senior financial analyst at FxPro, in a Tuesday note.
Thus far, gold prices, and those for other precious metals, have been buttressed by doubts about central bankers’ ability to limit the rise in inflation in the face of the geopolitical tensions.
“Investors are liquidating their positions in risky assets and are hesitant to pump more capital into equity markets,” wrote Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade, in a research note. “These dynamics have pushed the price of the yellow metals towards $2,000.”
Meanwhile, futures for palladium were rallying toward $3,000, with the white precious metal gaining $68.10, or 2.4%, to $2,970 an ounce, at last check, carving out a fresh all-time high.
A retreat in the dollar, down 0.2%, from a 2020 peak, as measured by the ICE Dollar Index DXY, -0.34%, also was helping to support purchases among overseas buyers.
