Gold price up as high anxiety grips marketplace

Gold and silver prices are sharply higher in early U.S. trading Monday, on safe-haven demand as the Russia-Ukraine geopolitical situation is deteriorating. The situation is very fluid and the metals markets will continue reacting to the latest news headlines on the matter. April gold futures were last up $25.60 at $1,913.10 and May Comex silver was last up $0.438 at $24.455 an ounce.

Marketplace anxiety is very high to start the trading week, following the weekend news that Russian President Putin put is military on high nuclear alert after the U.S. and Europe slapped severe sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, including the West’s removal of various Russian banks from the important SWIFT financial system. This could further disrupt the flow of commodity trade worldwide.

Both SocGen SA and Credit Suisse AG have stopped financing commodities trading from Russia. Russian and Ukrainian officials are meeting today for talks aimed at ending the four-day-old war. Ukrainian President Zelensky said he did not believe much would come out of the meeting.

Global stocks markets were lower overnight and the U.S. stock indexes are pointed toward sharply lower openings when the New York day session begins. A Barrons headline Monday reads, “Tougher sanctions spark Russian market mayhem; it’s threatening to spread.”