By Gina Lee

Investing.com – Gold was up Monday morning in Asia, rising more than 1% and set for its best monthly gain in nine. Investors digested the doled out by Western countries in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while Russian President Vladimir Putin put his country’s nuclear deterrent on high alert.

By 10:08PM ET (3:08 GMT), the yellow metal had risen 1.29% and was at $1,912 Although the yellow metal gained 2.2% during the session, it was still near its peak in September 2020. The yellow metal has also gained approximately 6.3% since February.

The U.S. warned that Putin was escalating the war with “dangerous rhetoric.” Signs are emerging that the invasion is getting bogged down, with the expected quick victories replaced by a stronger-than-anticipated Western response.

According to the most recent developments in the sanctions against Russia, Europe and the U.S. blocked large Russian banks accessing SWIFT’s global payments system. Other measures were also taken by the two countries to stop Russia from accessing a $630 billion war fund.

Canada and more European countries closed their skies to Russian flights on Sunday.

On Sunday, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia), stated that it will resume purchasing gold from the domestic market when the markets open later in the morning. The central bank is also taking measures to try and ensure the country’s financial stability.

The and will continue to make policy decisions during the week.

Palladium rose 5.9%, to $2,506.55, and it was on track for another consecutive monthly increase. The previous week saw it reach $2,711.18, its highest point since July 2021. The silver price rose 0.4%, and the platinum value rose 0.7%.