By Gina Lee

Investing.com – Gold was down on Friday morning in Asia after a roller-coaster session the day before. Investors are continuing to evaluate the Russian invasion in Ukraine and the Western sanctions on Russia.

By 11:16PM ET (4.16 GMT), $1,916.10 was down 0.53% Although the safe-haven yellow gold metal rose more than 3 percent on Thursday, it closed lower at $1.973.96.

On Friday, they pledged to remain in Kyiv’s capital. The Russian attack, which is the largest on an European country since World War Two, continues to be fought by Ukrainian forces.

U.S. President Joe Biden slapped more sanctions on Russia aimed at impeding the latter’s ability to do business in major currencies. American sanctions have already been imposed on Russian banks, state-owned companies and other entities.

Central banks and their policies are also on investors’ radars. According to the U.S. Federal Reserve, they will continue raising interest rates through March 2022. However, the European Central Bank indicated that conflicts in Ukraine might delay or even stop asset tapering.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will increase interest rates in Asia Pacific as soon as possible in order to manage inflation and to avoid further policy tightening, stated Governor Adrian Orr.

ETFs that invest in precious metals and gold saw huge inflows, as investors sought safe haven investments.

Palladium has risen nearly 28% since July 2021, and gold is up about 4.5%. After reaching its peak level in July 2021, palladium rose 1.4% to $2,711.18, on Thursday. Platinum was 0.4% higher, and silver 0.5%.