By Gina Lee

Investing.com – Gold was down on Monday morning in Asia but was near its highest level in more than eight months as mounting geopolitical tensions over Ukraine drive investors towards safe-haven assets.

By 10:02 ET (03:02 GMT), the price of $1,899.65 had fallen 0.01%

Due to growing fears of an invasion by Russia, the yellow metal just posted three weeks worth of gains. According to the U.S., an invasion of Ukraine could possibly involve several cities including Kyiv.

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday that an invasion could come “within days”, an accusation that Russia continues to refute. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken later in the week in Europe, while Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin have also reportedly agreed “in principle” to a .

Fears of an interest rate rise from the U.S. Federal Reserve are now overshadowed by the move to safe havens. During the week, Fed Governor Lael brainard, John Williams (New York Fed President), and Charles Evans (Chicago Fed President) stated that they are eager to increase rates. However, they were not seeking a super-sized hike or a move before the central bank’s next scheduled meeting.

Fed Governor Michelle Bowman and her fellow Fed officials, Loretta Messter and Raphael Bostic will both speak during the day.

In other central bank news, the People’s Bank of China’s loan prime rates are due later in the day. On Wednesday, the Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey will appear before the Treasury Committee to announce its policy decision. It will deliver its policy decision Thursday.

Silver, palladium, platinum and other precious metals were also on the rise.