Gold Markets Starts Week Strong !
(Kitco News) - Rising tensions in Ukraine are providing some momentum for gold as prices start the week with a rally, moving above key levels said one analyst.
Electronic trading of June Comex gold futures opened the Sunday North American evening/Monday Asian session at $1,321 an ounce, up from Friday’s pit close of $1,319. Prices added to their opening gains and are just off of session highs; as of 8:20 p.m. EDT Comex June gold was trading at $1,326 an ounce.
Silver is also starting the week firmer. Electronic trading of May Comex silver futures opened Sunday evening/Monday morning at $20.035 an ounce, up from Friday’s close of $19.946. As of 8:20 p.m. EDT Comex May silver traded at $20.085.
Sunday morning, Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov said in a televised address he is sending Ukrainian troops to the eastern part of the country in what the government is calling a “large-scale anti-terrorist operation” to squelch “pro-Russian insurgency.”
According to media reports, there has already been some bloodshed in the region. Ukrainian special forces exchanged gunfire with a pro-Russia militia outside the eastern city of Slovyansk. A Ukrainian security officer was killed and at least two others wounded.
In response, Russian diplomats called Sunday afternoon for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security council to discuss in an “informal meeting” about the growing crisis in Ukraine. Tensions have been slowly rising for the last few weeks and Chris Weston, commodity analyst at IG Markets, said that there is now a real possibility that civil war breaks out in the country.