Gold Up as Russia-Ukraine Talks Stall, but High U.S. Yields Cap Gains

© Reuters.

By Gina Lee

AiVIF.com – Gold was up on Friday morning in Asia and was set for its third weekly gain in four. Russia and Ukraine made no material progress in peace talks, giving the yellow metal a boost, but rising U.S. yields capped its gains.

Gold futures inched up 0.01% to $1,962.4 by 1:02 PM ET (5:02 AM GMT), near a more than one-week high hit during the previous session and gaining nearly 2% in the week to date.

"I would assign the most recent gold gains to concerns about Ukraine starting to creep back in because we haven't had the kind of progress on talks that I think markets were hoping for around the beginning of the month," DailyFX currency strategist Ilya Spivak told Reuters.

The war in Ukraine, sparked by the Russian invasion on Feb. 24, also continues with no end in sight. Western leaders ramped up military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine on Thursday, denouncing the Russian move as “barbarism.”

The U.S. Federal Reserve is also tightening its monetary policy, hiking its interest rate to 0.5% in its latest policy decision handed down during the previous week. The central bank’s policymakers also hinted at a more aggressive approach to curb inflation.

"But the surge in yields and the Fed being seen as rather aggressive, that's kept that bounce from really gaining any meaningful momentum. It's trying but looks like the Fed story is capping its ability to extend higher," said Spivak.

Yields on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note also remained close to their 2019 highs.

Gold could retest a resistance at $1,967 per ounce, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.

In other precious metals, silver gained 0.6% and platinum rose 1% to $1,030.45, while palladium was flat at $2,523.01.