Gold prices fall but remain close to the US $ 1,900 threshold due to tension in Ukraine

The gold it dipped slightly from the $1,900 threshold on Friday as a potential Russia-US meeting calmed some investor nerves over the escalating conflict in Ukraine, though the metal was on course for a third consecutive weekly gain.

Spot gold was down 0.5% at $1,887.49 an ounce by 11:15 GMT, having hit its highest level since June 2021 at $1,902.22. Bullion was on track to post a weekly gain of around 1.5%.

US gold futures fell 0.7% to $1,889.20 an ounce.

The US-Russia meeting scheduled for next week could stabilize gold prices, although there could be some selling interest over the weekend, especially as there will be a US holiday on Monday, said Michael Hewson, chief analyst at CMC Markets UK market.

“The outlook for gold looks much more positive, but it’s going to be very difficult to get back above those June peaks. We could find it trading between US$1,910 and US$1,870 an ounce in the coming daysHewson added.

In a development that helped global stocks post tentative gains, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, raising expectations of a more permanent de-escalation of the Ukraine crisis.

Meanwhile, finance chiefs from the Group of 20 major world economies agreed on Friday that rising inflation and geopolitical risks could threaten a fragile global recovery as the Ukraine crisis and the pandemic cloud prospects.

Among other precious metals, spot silver was up 0.3% at $23.73 an ounce; while palladium fell 2.8% to $2,300.68 an ounce; and platinum fell 0.5% to $1,083.63 an ounce.

With information from Reuters