International gold prices fell back on Friday after hitting a new six-day high of $1950.92 an ounce as investors assessed the possible impact of Russia's attack on a nuclear power plant in Ukraine. The market is still waiting for the upcoming US non-farm payrolls data. Gold prices are expected to continue to hover above $1915.
Spot gold fell 0.03% to $1935.17 / oz at 1415 / 57 Beijing time; the main COMEX gold contract rose 0.09% to $1937.7 / oz; and the dollar index rose 0.31% to 98.032.
Officials in the local town of Energodar said in an online post that Ukraine's Zapolo thermal nuclear power plant caught fire after it was attacked by Russian troops earlier Friday. The nuclear power plant is the largest in Europe. Russia has previously occupied the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, about 100km (62 miles) north of Kiev, the Ukrainian capital.
Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at City Index, said: "there are reports that the euro has been hit by a fire at Europe's largest nuclear power plant, and investors are turning to the yen and gold as a safe haven."
Since Russia sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, governments, including the United States and the European Union, have imposed sanctions on Russian individuals, companies, banks and the Russian central bank. Russia's finance ministry said on Thursday that it was halting foreign exchange and gold purchases this year as part of a moratorium on fiscal rules related to the use of additional oil and gas revenues.
The London bullion market association (LBMA) told that it had asked the six Russian gold refiners it certified whether they had business ties with the sanctioned Russian entities, which, if found, could affect their certification.
Us non-farm payrolls data for February will be released at 21:30 Beijing time on Friday. The market expects non-farm payrolls to increase by 403000, less than the previous increase of 467000; the unemployment rate is expected to fall by 0.1 percentage point to 3.9%; and the labor participation rate is expected to remain unchanged at the previous value of 62.2%.
Federal Reserve Chairman Colin Powell said Thursday (March 3) that Russia's war in Ukraine could hit the U.S. economy through a variety of channels, from rising prices to curbing spending and investment, but it is not clear what the ultimate impact will be.
