By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Gold was down on Friday morning in Asia. The yellow metal retreated after breaking above the key $1,900 level for a second consecutive session, with a Russia-U.S. meeting in the following week slowing investors’ dash towards safe-haven assets.
Gold futures fell 0.52% to $1,892.15 by 11:34 PM ET (4:34 AM GMT) after hitting its highest level in eight months, or $1,902.22 earlier in the session.
U.S. stock futures bounced on Friday, while Asia Pacific shares were mostly down, as U.S.-Russia tensions over Ukraine continue to simmer. However, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed to meet with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, which raised hopes that a diplomatic solution to the tensions can be found.
Russia is demanding security guarantees, including Ukraine never joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the U.S. and allies offering arms control and other confidence-building measures.
"We are seeing gold in extension of that invasion trade,” IG Markets analyst Kyle Rodda told Reuters, and "the next technical level to watch is around $1,920, so there's certainly technical basis to see gold prices rise."
Gold rose as much as 1.8% on Thursday, climbing above the $1,900 mark for the first time since Jun. 11, 2021. Some investors expect a further rally should tensions continue to escalate, and vice versa, while benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields also firmed.
Spot gold, however, is set for a third consecutive weekly gain, up about 1.7% so far. "In the short term, bullion market inflows have clearly been buttressed by Russia/Ukraine geopolitics, higher equity market vols, and inflation hedge demand," Citi analysts said in a note.
In other precious metals, silver was little changed at $23.80 per ounce and palladium fell 0.7%, with both set for small weekly gains. Platinum was up 0.3% and set for its best weekly showing since June 2021.