SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold jumped to a three-week high on Monday as mounting geopolitical tensions in Ukraine curbed investor appetite for risk, sending equities lower and boosting bullion's safe-haven appeal.
Palladium gained for a fifth straight session to its highest since August 2011 on growing worries about supply from top two producers, Russia and South Africa.
FUNDAMENTALS
Spot gold rose to a three-week high of $1,328.30 an ounce before settling to trade up 0.6 percent at $1,325.50 by 0030 GMT.
Palladium scaled fresh three-year highs on fears that more U.S. sanctions on top producer Russia could affect supply of the metal.
The United States is prepared to step up sanctions against Moscow if pro-Russian military actions in eastern Ukraine continue, a senior U.S. envoy said. The next round of U.S. sanctions are expected to target Russian business sectors such as mining, banking and energy.
Platinum gained about 1 percent to its highest in nearly a month as labour strikes in South Africa continued.
Ukraine has given pro-Russian separatists a Monday morning deadline to disarm or face a "full-scale anti-terrorist operation" by its armed forces, raising the risk of a military confrontation with Moscow.
SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 1.80 tonnes to 804.42 tonnes on Friday.
(Reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Miral Fahmy)
