Fresh Cycle Highs On Elevated Ukraine Risk

Gold deals ~$19 firmer to print $1,989.7/oz at typing, backing away from nineteen-month highs made earlier in the Asian session ($2,000.86/oz).

• A surge in stagflation worry lent support to the precious metal, following a rally in major crude benchmarks to multi-year highs in early Asia-Pac dealing (highest since Jul’ 08 for both WTI and Brent).
• To recap, the weekend saw reports pointing to an escalation in Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities, while a steady stream of western companies announced plans to pull out of Russia (e.g. KPMG, PwC, Linklaters), with the latter development helping to underscore the intensifying impact of western sanctions on Russia. Rhetoric between all parties continues to support bullion, with Russian President Putin saying that western sanctions on Russia were “akin to a declaration of war”, while vowing to continue military operations in Ukraine until Kyiv surrenders.
• Looking ahead, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators have confirmed that they will meet later today for a third round of talks.