Markets are under pressure amid the escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis
The escalation of geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe perpetuated the high volatility of global markets, prompting traders to abandon riskier assets and resort to safe havens.
Gold rose at the beginning of trading today to its highest level in 8 months at $ 1,914 an ounce, before returning to trading below the levels of $ 1,910 at the beginning of the American session.
Global stock markets compensated some of their losses today, Tuesday, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average is still under selling pressure and is trading below the 34,000 points levels, and while remaining below it, it may witness more decline that may extend to the 33,000 points.
On the other hand, the recognition by Russian President Vladimir Putin of two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, and the entry of Russian forces into them, has pushed oil prices to their highest level in seven years.
Brent crude contracts approached the levels of $100 a barrel during today's trading, before falling back to trade again around the $97 levels. While West Texas crude reached its peak at $ 96.
The United States and the European Union have discussed imposing sanctions on Russia, while the United Kingdom has imposed sanctions on some Russian banks.
Considering the continuation of the current conditions, it is expected that the state of high volatility and the persistence of risk aversion, which may put more pressure on the stock markets in particular, will push investors to resort to safe assets such as gold.
Tomorrow, the markets will be on a date with the RBNZ decision, and it is widely expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points, which may push the New Zealand dollar to move significantly and hold above the psychological level of 0.6800. There will also be a hearing for the monetary policy report from the Bank of England before Parliament.
