Fresh Highs In Asia Amidst Ukraine Risk

Gold is ~$7/oz lower, printing $1,891.5/oz at writing, backing off from fresh eight-month highs made earlier in the session. The pullback came as Ukraine-induced safe haven demand eased a little overnight, following news of U.S. Secretary of State Blinken accepting an invitation to meet with Russian FM Lavrov late next week. Still, the proximity to multi-month highs points to continued worry when it comes to the Russia-Ukraine standoff.

• To recap, gold added the best part of $30/oz on Thursday as reports of indirect fire between Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists (within the separatist region of Luhansk) kicked geopolitical tensions higher. U.S. warnings of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine continued to resonate, with spill over into early Asia trade evident, before the aforementioned pullback took place.
• Looking to technical levels, bullion remains a long way from support at $1,844.7 (Feb 15 low), while resistance at $1,903.1 (Jun 11 ’21 high) remains intact. A break through the latter would expose $1,916.6 (Jun 1 ’21 high).