Gold declined slightly during the Asian session after posting gains in the previous session, supported by renewed uncertainty ahead of the announcement of new sanctions by US President Joe Biden and his allies on Thursday.
President Biden will meet with leaders of NATO and the European Union (EU) to discuss the issue of Russian aggression on Ukraine.
The two -day summit will be held at NATO headquarters in Brussels. The new sanctions expected to be announced will have a continuing impact on the economy, especially Europe which is heavily dependent on Russian imports.
Another factor that spurred the rise in gold prices was an increase in UK inflation data to its latest 30 -year high in February. Gold tends to rise following demand by investors as an inflation hedge.
Even so, the strengthening of 10 -year U.S. bond yields that remained at a nearly three -year high and the rise of the U.S. dollar, prevented gold’s rise from rising higher.
In the Asian session, gold traded at around $ 1,941 an ounce, down slightly from the $ 1,948 level it reached at the beginning of the session. Gold futures, meanwhile, traded steady at $ 1,942 an ounce.
