Investing.com - Gold prices rose to a two-week high on Monday, as escalating tensions over the crisis in Ukraine underpinned demand for traditional safe-haven assets.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for June delivery rose to a session high of $1,306.50 a troy ounce, the most since April 16.
Gold last traded at $1,303.80 an ounce during European morning hours, up 0.23%, or $3.00. Futures advanced 0.79%, or $10.20 an ounce, on Friday to settle at $1,300.80.
Gold futures were likely to find support at $1,268.40 a troy ounce, the low from April 24 and resistance at $1,326.90, the high from April 15.
Investors continued to monitor events in Ukraine, as hostilities between Kiev and Russia escalated over the weekend, while the West prepared to impose fresh sanctions against Russia.
The U.S. and European Union are expected to step up sanctions against Moscow as early as Monday after pro-Russian rebels in east Ukraine took eight European military inspectors hostage over the weekend.
Gold, seen as a safe haven investment, usually benefits from geopolitical turmoil.
Meanwhile, investors looked ahead to a series of key economic events later in the week for further indications on the strength of the U.S. economy and the future course of monetary policy.
Market participants were looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy statement due on Wednesday. The central bank is likely to stick to its timetable to trim its monthly bond purchases by another $10 billion.
Traders were also focusing on Friday's U.S. jobs report for April, which was expected to indicate that the recovery in the labor market is continuing.
Meanwhile, silver for July delivery eased down 0.05%, or 0.1 cents, to trade at $19.70 a troy ounce. Silver ended Friday's session up 0.02%, or 0.1 cents, to settle at $19.71 an ounce.
Elsewhere in metals trading, copper for May delivery tacked on 0.11%, or 0.4 cents, to trade at a seven-week high of $3.097 a pound.
