UAE: Gold prices jump nearly Dh3 as demand surges due to Ukraine crisis

Gold prices rose on Monday morning and were set for their best monthly gain in nine months after Western countries slapped fresh sanctions on Russia for attacking Ukraine.

Spot gold rose 1.17 per cent to $1,911.22 per ounce at 9.10 am UAE time.

In the UAE, gold prices jumped nearly three dirhams per gram at the opening of the market on Thursday.

The Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group data showed 24K opening at Dh231.5 per gram, up from its Friday’s close of Dh228.75.

Among the other variants of the precious metal, 22K was trading at Dh217.5, 21K at Dh207.5 and 18K at Dh177.75 per gram.

Sanctions against Russia have been stepped up over the weekend as the war in Ukraine has escalated.

The US, EU, UK and Canada have banned a number of Russian lenders from the international payments system SWIFT and are also placing restrictions on the country’s central bank. Russian President Vladimir Putin put his country's nuclear deterrent on high alert.

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The US said Putin was escalating the war with "dangerous rhetoric", amid signs that the biggest assault on a European state since World War II was not producing rapid victories, but instead generating a far-reaching and concerted Western response.

waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai