Gold surged to the highest since 2020 after Russian forces attacked targets across Ukraine, triggering the worst security crisis in Europe since World War II and crushing risk sentiment.
The move sparked a flight to haven assets, with European stocks and US futures dropping while Treasuries rallied. Gold jumped the most in almost two years, even as the dollar strengthened. Bullion priced in euros hit an all-time high.
Bullion has risen in recent weeks as Moscow’s standoff with the West intensified, helping to offset other headwinds like the US Federal Reserve’s policy tightening that was expected to weigh on the metal. Analysts will now be forced to look carefully at their price forecasts for the year.
We “expect that gold prices break through $2,000/oz in the coming days if the conflict further escalates,” Bernard Dahdah, senior commodities analyst at Natixis SA, wrote in a note. “A quick correction will ensue once the conflict’s intensity winds down.”
Spot gold jumped as much as 3.4 per cent to $1,974.34 an ounce, the highest since September 2020, and traded at $1,957.49 at 12:29 pm in London.
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