Gold futures managed to gain some on Monday from the landslide vote in Crimea for secession from Ukraine, though the fallout from Russia's expected move to absorb the region could provide a tailwind as sanctions loom. At last check, gold for April delivery rose $5.20 to $1,384.20 an ounce. May silver gained 2 cents to $21.44 an ounce. Last week, gold prices tacked on 3% thanks to five straight sessions in the green amid all the geopolitical uncertainty heading into the Crimea referendum. IG analyst Alastair McCaig says the risk of sanctions both on and by Russia after the vote "could go some way to helping the gold price rise up to the $1,400 level, but only further uncertainties would be able to push it past this area in the short term." On the economic front this week, existing home sales and housing starts both provide midweek highlights. Also, the Fed will meet on Tuesday and Wednesday, where the next tapering step is expected to be announced by Janet Yellen. Elsewhere in metals trading, April platinum rallied $10.70, or 0.7%, to $1,480.30 an ounce. A strike by mine-workers in South Africa is entering its eighth week amid little signs of a resolution soon. The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) President Joseph Mathunjwa told Johannesburg-based Business Day in an interview that many workers have gone home and are "prepared to sit." "They are relaxing there with their cattle and their fields. We aren't feeling pressure. The strike is still intact," he said Friday. Palladium for June delivery gained $2.55, or 0.3%, to $775.80 an ounce. High-grade copper for May delivery , which is down nearly 14% year-to-date on China growth concerns, held flat at $2.95 a pound. Source : Marketwatch
