Gold reaches record high for fifth straight session

Gold bars

Gold prices reached a record high for the fifth consecutive session today, March 19, as Russia and Ukraine traded accusations of violating a US-brokered agreement to refrain from attacking energy targets.

However, the prisoner swap agreement, described as a confidence-building measure, proceeded as planned.

Gold futures for April delivery gained about 40 cents to close at $3,041.20 per ounce, an all-time high.

Limiting the yellow metal's gains, the US dollar index, which measures the greenback's performance against a basket of six major currencies, inched 0.2% higher to 103.47 points at 9:55 pm Makkah time, after touching 103.91 earlier in the session.

Moscow said today that Ukraine had struck an oil depot in southern Russia, while Kiev said that Russia had struck hospitals and homes and cut off power to some of its railway lines. However, each side released 175 soldiers in a prisoner exchange, Reuters reported.

Daily trading in gold futures ended ahead of the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting, during which it held interest rates steady for the second consecutive time at the 4.25-4.50% range, as widely expected.