Gold is a little easier below $1300 today following reports of a possible deescalation of tensions between Ukraine and Russia. The four-party talks in Geneva reportedly garnered an agreement that all sides of the conflict would work toward deescalation and refrain from violence.
According to a CNN article, the agreement “calls for all illegal armed groups to be disarmed, all illegally seized buildings to be returned to legitimate owners, and for all occupied public spaces to be vacated.”
Such an agreement is certainly a step in the right direction, but U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was quick to caution that the agreement was just words at this point. He then immediately threatened Russia with “further costs,” if they don’t take the steps laid out in the agreement.
Perhaps most significantly, there is apparently no call for Russia to pull its troops back from the Ukrainian border. Additionally, Russian President Putin admitted in a radio interview today that Russian troops did indeed secretly invade Crimea to assist pro-Russian forces with the overthrow of the province. It seems tensions will remain high as long as Russian troops remain on the border.
With a long holiday weekend approaching, the yellow metal is likely to remain range bound. U.S., Canadian, UK, most European and the Japanese markets are all closed tomorrow in observance of Good Friday. The UK and some European markets are also closed on Easter Monday.