Spot gold climbed above $5,200 per ounce on the afternoon of February 26, reaching a high of $5,205, marking an intraday increase of approximately 0.7%. Spot silver traded at $89.4 per ounce, up 0.25% for the day.
WTI crude oil and ICE Brent crude oil prices continued to fluctuate, both rising more than 0.3% at the time of reporting.
On the news front, according to reports, the head of the Ukrainian negotiation delegation, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov, and Economic Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, are scheduled to meet with U.S. negotiators in Geneva on the 26th. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the sequence of steps to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict would be discussed during the talks. He also expressed uncertainty about achieving clear results on territorial issues on the 26th, suggesting such matters should be addressed at the leadership level.
Regarding Iran-U.S. tensions, Iran's Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the 26th announcing that Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Oman's Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi had met in Geneva on the evening of the 25th. The statement indicated that this meeting marks the official start of the third round of indirect negotiations between Iran and the United States.
In other news, U.S. Vice President reportedly stated on the 25th that the White House is closely monitoring an incident involving a U.S.-registered speedboat that was "shot at" near Cuba. He expressed hope that it was not a "serious" event. Earlier that day, Cuba's Ministry of the Interior reported that its border guards had detected the unauthorized entry of the speedboat, registered in Florida, into Cuban territorial waters near Villa Clara province. The vessel's occupants opened fire, prompting Cuban forces to return fire, resulting in four attackers killed and six injured.
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