FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold rose 1.2% to $1,909.89 an ounce 0124 GMT. US gold futures rose 1.1% to $1,908.30.
* The metal rose 2.2% earlier in the session, closing in on its September 2020 peak. It has gained around 6.3% this month.
* Gold is often used as a hedge once morest inflation and as a means of preserving wealth in times of financial and political uncertainty.
* The US says Putin is escalating the war with ‘dangerous rtoric’, amid signs the biggest assault on a European state since World War II is not producing quick victories, but rather sparking a response western concert and far-reaching.
* In the toughest economic sanctions they have ever taken, the United States and Europe announced on Saturday that they would exclude major Russian banks from the main global payment system SWIFT and announced other measures to limit Moscow’s use of a $630 billion war chest.
* European nations and Canada decided on Sunday to close their airspace to Russian planes, an unprecedented move aimed at pressuring Putin to end his invasion of Ukraine.
* Russia’s central bank said on Sunday it would resume domestic gold buying from February 28, as it takes steps to try to ensure financial stability during Western sanctions on Moscow.
* Palladium, the catalyst metal for automobiles, jumped 5.9% to $2,506.55 and is set for a third consecutive monthly rise following hitting its highest level since July 2021 at $2,711.18 a week last.
* Spot silver rose 0.4% to $24.28 an ounce and platinum rose 0.7% to $1,061.72.
