Investing.com - Gold and silver futures edged higher on Monday, as worries over ongoing tensions in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip continued to dampen risk sentiment and boost demand for safe haven assets.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for August delivery tacked on 0.35%, or $4.60, to trade at $1,314.00 a troy ounce during U.S. morning hours. Prices held in a tight range between $1,308.00 and $1,314.80.
Gold ended Friday’s session down 0.57%, or $7.50, to settle at $1,309.40 an ounce. Futures were likely to find support at $1,293.50, the low from July 16 and resistance at $1,325.90, the high from July 17.
Also on the Comex, silver for September delivery tacked on 0.48%, or 10.1 cents, to trade at $20.98 a troy ounce.
Investors remained cautious following the shooting down of a Malaysian airliner in eastern Ukraine late last week, with the U.S. blaming pro-Russian separatists for the act.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday that there was overwhelming evidence of Russian complicity in the downing of the airliner. Russia and Ukraine still accuse each other of being behind the downed passenger plane.
Western leaders from the U.K., France and Germany have warned Russian President Vladimir Putin of increased sanctions by Tuesday if international investigators are not allowed full access to the crash site.
Gold and silver also benefitted from Israel's intensifying ground offensive into Gaza against Hamas militants who fired hundreds of rockets into Israel.
On Monday, some 100 Palestinians and 13 Israeli soldiers had been killed in a nearly two-week military offensive in the Gaza strip. Despite heavy casualties, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Sunday that military operations against Hamas militants could be expanded.
Gold and silver are often seen as a haven investment in times of geopolitical uncertainty.
Elsewhere in metals trading, copper for September delivery dipped 0.07%, or 0.2 cents, to trade at $3.182 a pound as lingering jitters over a possible bond default in China's construction sector continued to weigh.