The futures of gold fell for the session Friday but tallied a gain for the week, as traders looked at developments in the Russia-Ukraine war and an increasingly hawkish Federal Reserve.
Gold was still flat at $1,955 an ounce in early Asian trading on Monday, but will be up around 2.5% on the month.
The risks of Russia-Ukraine war becoming World War III is diminishing for the moment and the immediate concern is the impact of more aggressive interest rates, particularly on the economy, said Edmund Moy, former director of the United States Mint and senior IRA strategist for gold and silver dealer U.S. Money Reserve.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is a wild card, and the war can get ugly and spread quickly, Moy said.
Gold futures for April delivery fell by 0.4% to $1,954. According to Dow Jones Market Data, prices based on the most active contract still gained 1.3% for the week, despite 20 an ounce on Comex.