Gold climbs as haven demand gains on ongoing crisis

Gold climbed on increased demand for the haven asset, after the shelling of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant raised concerns over the safety of the facility in Ukraine.

Bullion is heading for a weekly gain as investors weigh the economic fallout from Russia’s invasion of its neighbour. The resulting surge in oil prices has stoked concerns about global growth and inflation risks.

The crisis in Europe is disrupting flows of energy, grains and metals, intensifying existing prices pressures in the global economy. Investors have sought out bullion as a store of value amid the uncertainty, with inflows into exchange-traded funds backed by the metal amounting to about 34 tons this week, according to initial data compiled by Bloomberg.

Spot gold rose as much as 0.8 per cent to $1,950.88 an ounce, before trading at $1,940.74 at 9.24am in Singapore. Prices are up more than 2 per cent this week.

Palladium added 1.6 per cent, bringing this week’s gain to about 19 per cent, on concerns over potential supply disruptions as Russia produces about 40 per cent of the metal mined globally. Silver was steady and platinum rose.