Gold Treads Water As Flight to Safety Demand Eases

Gold was little changed on Wednesday as demand for safe assets cooled on easing fears of imminent military action by Russia in Ukraine, and traders waited for anew series of U.S. data for clues on the strength of the economy.

The United States and Russia will hold talks over Ukraine on Wednesday.

“If you have a stabilization in Ukraine and U.S. data start showing consistent signs of improvement, I think we could quickly go back below $1,300,” ABN Amro analyst Georgette Boele said.

Bullion turned marginally positive after data showed U.S. private payrolls creationcame in less than expected in February, the latest data series bitten by frigid weather.

Spot gold was up 0.3 percent near $1,338 an ounce, after dropping 1.2 percent on Tuesday. It hit its highest since Oct. 30 at $1,354.80 on Monday after news of escalating tensions in Ukraine hurt stock markets. U.S. gold futures for April delivery were modestly weaker near $1,337.

In times of economic and geopolitical uncertainty, gold is seen as an alternative investment to assets perceived as riskier.

A U.S. nonfarm payrolls report on Friday should give investors a further opportunity to assess its potential implications for the Federal Reserve’s plan to unwind its stimulus program. Bullion has climbed 11 percent in 2014 after last year’s 28-percent price drop, as a spate of soft economic data from the United States and China drew investors back to the metal.

Source: Reuters