On Tuesday (March 11th) during the Asian session, spot gold continued its downward trend and is currently trading around $2883.09 per ounce. Overnight gold prices fell 0.79%, falling below the 2900 mark and briefly hitting a near week low of $2880.19 per ounce during trading. Zelensky visited Saudi Arabia, and the United States remained optimistic about the talks between US and Ukrainian officials. Market concerns about the geopolitical situation have cooled down; In addition, the market value of the US stock market evaporated by $4 trillion, increasing investors' demand for holding coins and further driving gold bulls to take profits.

Ukrainian President Zelensky and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed held a meeting before talks with US officials in Ukraine. According to the Saudi state news agency earlier on Tuesday, the Crown Prince emphasized during his meeting with Zelensky in Jeddah that Saudi Arabia supports the international community's efforts to resolve the Ukrainian crisis and achieve peace.

The United States used to be Ukraine's main ally, but in order to end the war as soon as possible, the United States has changed its policy towards the conflict in Ukraine, directly engaging with Moscow and stopping military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine.

Last month, Zelensky had a disastrous meeting with US President Trump in the Oval Office, and their relationship was deadlocked. Since then, Ukraine has been working hard to establish a "pragmatic" relationship with the White House.

Since the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Saudi Arabia has been acting as a mediator, including facilitating the exchange of prisoners of war and hosting the talks between Moscow and Washington last month.

The meeting between US and Ukrainian officials on Tuesday was the first formal meeting since the White House meeting ended abruptly. Trump's Middle East envoy, Vitkov, said he has high hopes for the meeting.

He said in an interview with Fox News, "I think we will go there with the expectation of making substantial progress

When asked if he believed Zelensky would return to the United States this week to sign the mineral agreement, Witkov said, "I'm really hopeful. All the signs are very, very positive

US Secretary of State Rubio is more cautious, stating that there are still some details to be resolved in the mineral agreement. He added that the talks could be successful without signing an agreement and emphasized the need to weigh Kiev's willingness to make concessions towards achieving peace.

Zelensky stated that he will not attend the meeting with US officials on Tuesday, and the Ukrainian delegation will include the Chief of Staff, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Defense, and a senior military official from the Presidential Palace.

Zelensky wrote on X, 'As far as we are concerned, we are fully committed to constructive dialogue and hope to discuss and reach consensus on necessary decisions and steps.'.

A US official said, 'We want to see if Ukrainians are not only interested in peace, but also in the reality of peace.'. Witkov, who is responsible for arranging the talks, said that the purpose of the talks is to "reach a framework for a peace agreement and a preliminary ceasefire agreement".

Zelensky called for a ceasefire and exchange of prisoners of war in the air and at sea, stating that this could be a test of Russia's commitment to ending the war. Moscow has rejected the idea of a temporary ceasefire, stating that it is buying time for Kiev to prevent its military collapse.

In terms of the US stock market, due to the panic among investors caused by President Trump's tariffs and concerns about economic downturn, the US stock market sold off, causing the S&P 500 index to fall by $4 trillion from its peak last month. This is a major reversal for Wall Street, which was once ignited by Trump's agenda. The S&P 500 index closed on Monday down 8.6% from its historical high set on February 19th, with a market value shrinking by over $4 trillion since then, a drop of nearly 10%, indicating that the index will undergo a correction. The tech powerhouse Nasdaq index closed Thursday down more than 10% from its December high.

Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco Metals, said, "Due to some slight profit taking and stock market weakness, gold prices have come to a slight halt. However, we may see some safe haven buying in the future.

Investors are still paying attention to the US Consumer Price Index data to be released on Wednesday and the Producer Price Index to be released on Thursday. Traders have fully digested the possibility of a US interest rate cut in June.

This trading day focuses on the job vacancies of JOLTs in the United States in January. In addition, US and Ukrainian officials are holding talks in Saudi Arabia, and investors need to pay close attention.