SHANGHAI, Mar 30 (SMM) - On Wednesday (March 30), international gold prices rebounded and moved further away from the low of $1889.98/ounce recorded in the previous trading day since February 25. Despite signs of progress in the Russia-Ukraine peace talks, the United States and its allies plan to impose more sanctions on Russia, hence the talks are unable to ease market risk aversion. Gold are expected to reach $1958/ounce.  

At 15:06 Beijing time, spot gold rose 0.33% to $1925.73 per ounce; the most-traded COMEX futures rose 0.66% to $1930.7 per ounce; the dollar index was down 0.39% to 98.039.

Russia pledged on Tuesday (29 March) to cut military operations in the Ukrainian capital and northern regions, while Ukraine offered to adopt a neutral stance. These confidence-building steps are the first signs of progress in the peace talks.

But the US warned that the threats were not over. The US and its allies plan to impose new sanctions on more sectors of the Russian economy. These sectors are critical to sustaining Russian military operations, including the military supply chain.

US consumer confidence rebounded from a one-year low in March as optimism in the jobs market warmed. But an interest rate hike amid high inflation could hurt car purchases over the next six months and limit consumer spending.