Gold jumps with negotiations taking a break on Ukraine

LONDON (February 18) Gold’s price (XAU/USD) is holding on to 0.50% gain this Tuesday in the European trading session, trading around $2,910 at the time of writing. Headlines are coming out of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where both United States (US) and Russian officials are discussing a possible peace deal for Ukraine. Russia made clear that it does not want Ukraine to join NATO, while Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reports a Trump-Putin meeting will not be for next week, Bloomberg and IFAX report. 

Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Bank (Fed) President of Philadelphia Patrick Harker advocated on Monday night for the central bank to keep interest rates unchanged. He pointed out that recent inflation reports and gauges are not tracking economic changes that are currently taking place. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly and Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr will speak later this Tuesday at 15:20 GMT and 18:00 GMT, respectively. 

Daily digest market movers: Enough for a pop

• Goldman Sachs raised its year-end gold target to $3,100 an ounce due to central bank buying and inflows into bullion-backed exchange-traded funds, Reuters reports.
• Gold shipments from Singapore to the US climbed to the highest level in almost three years in January, a further sign of the ructions in bullion trading after pricing disparities opened up in key markets. Gold shipments from Singapore to the US reached 11 tons in January, up 27% from December, Bloomberg reports.
• The US administration has asked European nations to explain what security guarantees they’re willing to provide to Ukraine as part of a peace deal. The move followed United States (US) President Donald Trump’s push to begin talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
• Investors are still analyzing more details of the US reciprocal tariff plans, which could take months to implement due to their complexity. Trump’s trade policies have become increasingly muddled due to delays and exclusions, with concerns about the impact on the global economy aiding bullion’s role as a store of value.

FXStreet