Gold Spot Price Open: $1,335

Gold Spot Price Close: $1,351

Change in Gold Spot Price: +$16

Silver Spot Price Open: $21.43

Silver Spot Price Close: $21.47

Change in Silver Spot Price: +$0.04

Gold and silver spot values improved on Monday after an eventful weekend in Eastern Europe. When all was said and done, gold gained more than fifteen dollars while silver remained more stagnant, only picking up about 4 cents.

Over the weekend, Russian military vehicles and personnel were seen moving into Ukraine’s Crimea region, located in the southeastern part of the country adjacent to the Black Sea. The West is seeing Russia’s military movements as an act of aggression, though Russian officials maintain that the presence of its military in Ukraine is for the sole purpose of protecting the livelihood of Russian citizens and compatriots living in Crimea. A small fact a lot of people are neglecting to mention is that Crimea’s citizens are majorly Russian speaking and are of Russian descent as well.

While the activity over the weekend did well to boost safe-haven demand for precious metals, an ultimatum handed down from Russia to Ukrainian troops in Crimea may have added more fuel to the risk-averse attitude exhibited by global investors. Russian Naval officials based in the Black Sea have given Ukrainian troops in Crimea until tomorrow afternoon to lay down their weapons and surrender lest they be subjected to an all-out military attack. Though the United States, among other countries, have denounced Russia’s ultimatum, opposition from the West will likely remain solely verbal. There have been talks about placing economic sanctions on Russia due to their recent actions with regard to Ukraine, though these talks are only preliminary.

In other news this week, the all-important non-farms data for February is expected to be released on Friday. As it stands, expectations are for an additional 150,000 jobs to have been added in February while the unemployment rate is expected to remain at 6.6%. Investors will be keeping their eyes on major news outlets for any and all developments from Ukraine.