Gold Ends Higher On Soft Data, Ukraine

New York (Mar 5)  Gold futures settled modestly higher on Wednesday, after some soft private sector jobs data from the U.S. showed employment rising less than expected in February, amid renewed saber-rattling between Moscow and the West. Russian officials are threatening to retaliate against any possible sanctions by seizing U.S. assets in Russia, according to reports.

In economic news, private sector employment in the U.S. rose less than expected in February, with bad winter weather weighing on payrolls, a report from ADP showed Wednesday. As well, activity in the U.S. service sector grew at a slower rate in February, with some respondents attributing it to the rough winter weather, a survey by the Institute for Supply Management showed.

Following President Vladimir Putin ordering thousands of troops back from the Crimea border, Russian officials are in the process of drafting laws to seize U.S. and European Union assets in the event the West prefers to slap sanctions and freeze its assets. Yesterday, Kremlin also stated it has no plans to annex the strategically important Crimea region.

Gold for April delivery, the most actively traded contract, gained $2.40 or 0.2 percent to close at $1,334.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday.

Gold for April delivery scaled an intraday high of $1,342.00 and a low of $1,332.70 an ounce.

Investors are now focused on this week's crucial U.S. jobs data for clues on the health of the world's largest economy.

Yesterday, gold futures settled lower, giving back some of the recent gains amid hopes of a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Ukraine with Russian President backing out of the Crimea region in Ukraine.

Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, remained unchanged at 803.70 tons from its previous close.

Source: RTT News