Gold futures settle at a roughly 2-week high
Gold futures climbed for a second straight session on Wednesday to settle at their highest in about two weeks. Gold responded, in part, to comments from a number of Federal Reserve officials, such as Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, who "while talking in hawkish tones, are also emphasizing the fabled 'soft landing' while taking on inflation," said Jeff Wright, chief investment officer at Wolfpack Capital. Meanwhile, the U.S. announced new sanctions on Russia in response to its ongoing invasion of Ukraine, feeding haven demand for the precious metal. The U.S. also made it clear that gold-related transactions with Russia's central bank are prohibited. April gold climbed by $24.90, or 1.3%, to settle at $1,962.20 an ounce. That was the highest most-active contract finish since March 11, FactSet data show.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.