On Monday (November 18), in the Asian session, spot gold rose to a new high of $2597.06 per ounce for nearly three trading days, up more than $30 from the closing price on Friday. At the weekend, Russia carried out the "largest" air raid on Ukraine so far, while sources said that President Biden's government had allowed Ukraine to use weapons made in the United States to attack Russia's hinterland, which significantly increased the market's concern about the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, increased the demand for safe haven gold, and provided upward momentum for gold prices.

Russia conducts' largest scale 'airstrike on Ukraine's energy system

On November 17th local time, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that the Russian military used long-range precision guided weapons to carry out concentrated attacks on key energy infrastructure and military industrial enterprises that ensure the operation of military industrial facilities in Ukraine. The report states that all established strike missions have been completed.

According to reports, explosions were heard in Kiev, Kropyvnitsky, Cherkasy, Dnipro, Krivorog, Odessa, and Zaporizhzhia.

Ukrainian officials have stated that preventive power outages have been implemented in Kiev and multiple Ukrainian regions due to Russian missile attacks. Previously, the Polish armed forces stated that after Russia launched a missile attack on Ukraine, Poland had taken planes into the air to ensure airspace safety.

In addition, photos have circulated on social media claiming that the "Patriot" missile intercepted two ballistic missiles in Odessa.

On November 17th local time, the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy announced that power generation and transmission facilities throughout Ukraine have been heavily attacked by Russian armed forces, and emergency power outages have been initiated.

Ukrainian media reported that the Russian military launched multiple "Dagger" hypersonic missiles into Ukrainian territory.

According to the Ukrainian newspaper Pravda, in the latest round of large-scale attacks on November 17th, the Russian military launched approximately 120 missiles and 90 drones. The Ukrainian air defense forces destroyed 140 out of 210 aerial targets.

Zelensky said, "Various Ukrainian states have been subjected to large-scale joint attacks by Russia. Russia has used various types of drones, especially Shahed drones, at night and in the morning. They have also launched cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and air to ground missiles: Zircon, Iskanders, Daggers. The enemy's target is our energy infrastructure in Ukraine. Unfortunately, due to collisions and debris falling, the facilities were damaged. A drone attack in Mykolaiv resulted in two deaths and six injuries, including two children. So far, some areas have experienced power outages, and all necessary resources have been invested in post disaster and recovery work

British Prime Minister Stamer stated on Sunday (November 17) that he has no plans to hold talks with Putin. I won't have a phone call with Putin like German Chancellor Scholz did. As long as Ukraine needs it, allies must now double their support for Ukraine.

Regional officials announced on Monday that Ukraine launched a drone attack on Bryansk, Russia, and 26 Ukrainian drones have been shot down so far.

The mayor of Moscow stated that the Russian air defense forces destroyed the drones flying to Moscow.

Biden's policy on the Russia-Ukraine conflict has been greatly reversed, allowing Ukraine to use US weapons to attack Russia's hinterland

Two US officials and a source familiar with the situation said on Sunday that President Biden's government has allowed Ukraine to use US made weapons to attack Russia's hinterland, which is a major reversal of Washington's policy in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Sources said that Ukraine plans to conduct its first long-range strike in the coming days, but they did not disclose details due to operational security concerns.

There are still two months left until President elect Trump takes office on January 20th. Previously, Ukrainian President Zelensky had been requesting permission for the Ukrainian military to use American weapons to strike military targets in the Russian hinterland for several months.

A US official and a source familiar with the decision said that this change is mainly in response to Russia's deployment of North Korean ground forces to supplement its own forces, and this development has raised concerns in Washington and Kiev.

Zelensky said in his evening speech that these missiles "will explain everything. He said, "Today, many media outlets are saying that we have been allowed to take appropriate action. But the crackdown is not done with words. Such things are not publicly announced

Russia warns that relaxing restrictions on the use of US weapons in Ukraine will be seen as a significant escalation of the situation. According to TASS, Vladimir Dzhabarov, the first vice chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian Federation Council, said that Washington's decision to allow Ukraine to use American long-range missiles to strike Russia's hinterland could lead to World War III and will receive a quick response.

According to sources, Ukraine's first deep strike is likely to use ATACMS rockets, which have a range of up to 190 miles (306 kilometers). Although some US officials have expressed doubts about whether allowing remote strikes would change the overall trajectory of the war, this decision could help Ukraine as Russian forces make progress and potentially put Kiev in a more advantageous negotiating position during ceasefire talks.

Gold prices soar by over $30

Whether it is Russia's large-scale airstrikes on Ukraine's energy system or Ukraine's possible use of missiles to supply Russia's hinterland, both have intensified geopolitical tensions and increased the safe haven demand for gold.

After Trump's victory, the US dollar index continued to rise, and Federal Reserve Chairman Powell's speech also leaned towards hawkishness, helping the US dollar index to hit a new high of over a year to around 107.07, which caused gold prices to fall to around $2536.68 per ounce last week. But 'when all the negative factors are gone, it's good news.' Despite the impressive performance of the US initial jobless claims data and Federal Reserve Chairman Powell's speech last Thursday, gold prices did not further decline, indicating a decline in short-term downward momentum.

In addition, after two weeks of deep correction, the gold price stabilized near the 100 day moving average last week, attracting bargain hunters to support the gold price and help it recover. Pay attention to the resistance at the 2600 level in the short term. If you can recover from this position, you may further explore the resistance near the 55 day moving average, which is currently around 2639.52.

The current support of the 5-day moving average below is around 2577.55. If the gold price fails to break through the 2600 level and falls below the 5-day moving average, it is necessary to beware of the possibility of the gold price re exploring the 100 day moving average support.