NEW DELHI: Gold prices moved higher briskly on Monday, trading near a three-month high, as lingering concerns surrounding Ukraine kept the yellow metal’s safe-haven appeal intact.

Russia could create a surprise pretext for an attack, the United States said on Sunday, which increases the appeal of save haven gold. Though, the dollar and safe-haven currencies held gains, which pressurized the dollar.

Gold futures on MCX were trading up by 0.77 per cent or Rs 376 at Rs 49,490 per 10 grams. Silver futures jumped more than 1.04 per cent or Rs 654 at Rs 63,642 per kg.

Ravi Singh, Vice President and Head of Research, ShareIndia said that gold prices are soaring on account of escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia and uncontrollable global inflation. Investors and central banks are rushing to procure gold, he added.

In the spot market, highest purity gold was sold at Rs 48,920 per 10 grams while silver was priced at Rs 62,157 per kg on Friday, according to the Indian Bullion and Jewellers Association.

The spot prices of gold have jumped about Rs 1,100 per 10 grams since January 31, whereas Silver has shown a similar rise per kg in the same period under review.

Trading strategy
“We expect gold prices to trade sideways to up for the day with COMEX Spot gold support at $1,840 and resistance at $1,870 per ounce. MCX Gold April support lies at Rs 48,800 and resistance at Rs 49,400 per 10 gram,” Tapan Patel, Senior Analyst (Commodities), HDFC Securities.

Global markets
Spot gold was steady at $1,859.16 per ounce, as of 0125 GMT. In the previous session, bullion prices hit the highest since November 19 at $1,865.15. US gold futures rose 0.9 per cent to $1,859.00 per ounce.

Among other metals, spot silver gained 0.7 per cent to $23.74 per ounce, while platinum was up 0.8 per cent at $1,036.14, and palladium jumped 3.7 per cent to $2,391.73 per ounce.