Gold price lifts on Greek, Ukraine fears

February 11, 2015

Frankfurt (Feb 11)  Gold prices were higher in Europe on Wednesday on safe-haven buying ahead of impending talks between eurozone finance ministers on Greek debt and worries over the unrest in Ukraine.

Spot gold was trading at $US1,237.00 a troy ounce, up 0.3 per cent, in morning European trade.

The yellow metal is expected to "be firmly moved by news drifting out on the latest developments regarding the debt negotiations. Any positive developments ought to send gold lower, while less-than-optimistic reports may send gold toward $US1,245," said Howie Lee, an investment analyst at Phillip Futures.

Furthermore, unrest in Ukraine is also seen to support safe-haven buying.

"There are also further 'peace' talks about the Ukrainian situation, where events seem to be escalating on the ground, with further fighting reported overnight ... [which] should really give gold a bit of impetus on the upside," said David Govett, head of precious metals at Marex Spectron, a brokerage.

Gold is considered an effective hedge against risk. As a result, demand often spikes up during periods of social or economic uncertainty when investors seek a safe place to store their cash.

The other precious metals were all higher. Silver was up 0.8 per cent at $US17.047 an ounce, platinum was up 0.4 per cent at $US1,208.61 an ounce, and palladium was up 0.3 per cent at $US770.88 an ounce.

Source: BusinessSpectator

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