On Monday, gold prices rose to their highest level since mid-March, as the Russia-Ukraine crisis heightened the sense of risk and led investors to secure bullion. Spot gold rose 0.5 per cent to 9 1,984.58 an ounce, hitting its highest level since March 14, as of 0202 GMT. US gold futures rose 0.7 per cent to 9 1,987.70.

Ilya Spivak, an FX strategist at DailyFX, said there appeared to be some risk aversion in the market, with developments in Russia and Ukraine somewhat up in the air while warning that illiquidity could exaggerate price action. Gold rose for a second straight week on Thursday, buoyed by safe-haven demand from the Ukraine crisis and soaring inflation. Most markets were closed on Friday for a holiday.

Gains in zero-yielding gold were capped on Monday, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond firming to its highest level since December 2018. While another test of $2,000 could be gold’s path of least resistance, $2,100 is a more significant, more robust number to watch closely as there are some meaningful peaks there to overcome for a sustained uptick, Spivak said.

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Meanwhile, official data showed on Monday that China’s economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter, at 4.8 per cent year-on-year, but the risk of a sharp slowdown in the coming months has risen as COVID-19 swept the world, with restrictions and Ukraine. The war took its toll. Spot silver was up 0.7 per cent at $25.87 an ounce, platinum was up 1.2 per cent at $1,001.57, and palladium was up 1.6 per cent at $2,406.85.