XAU/USD: Gold Prices Jump to $3,360 as Traders Shift Focus to Trump-Zelensky Meeting

Backed by European leaders, Ukraine’s president will meet with Trump on Monday in efforts to hammer out a permanent ceasefire and security guarantees. Last time didn’t go so well. Will it be different this time?

🏆 Gold Moves Higher on Geopolitics

• Gold prices XAUUSD caught a bid Monday, climbing to $3,360 (before sliding lower), as traders turned their gaze toward Washington in anticipation of a highly important meeting arranged in a rush.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a cadre of European leaders will try to press Donald Trump for “real security guarantees” in talks aimed at ending Russia’s war on Ukraine. The stakes are high — and so are the safe-haven flows.
• Nearly six months ago, Zelensky was unceremoniously shown the door at the White House after clashing with Trump on live TV over his insistence that Kyiv needed firm defense commitments. Monday’s return to Washington brings that issue back to center stage.

📩 A Second Chance

• European leaders are backing Zelensky, pushing Trump to commit to long-term guarantees rather than the quick ceasefire-and-land-concession model floated by Vladimir Putin.
• The urgency is amplified after Trump’s Alaska summit with Putin over the weekend, which ended without a deal but shifted the narrative.
• Trump quietly abandoned his call for an immediate ceasefire, leaving Ukraine scrambling to redefine terms before any settlement hardens.

🔥 Trump Turns Up the Pressure

• Trump didn’t make things easier. On Truth Social Sunday night, he wrote that Zelensky “can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight.” He added: “Big day at the White House tomorrow.”
• That framing puts Zelensky on the defensive and in uncertain territory heading into the talks later today.
• Still, Ukrainian officials are encouraged by signs Trump may be open to providing binding US security guarantees after the war.

🧐 Why Gold Shines Here

• So why’s the bullion heading higher? Gold, as a safe haven asset, is surging because markets know geopolitical fog breeds risk aversion. The prospect of a fragile or failed peace process keeps capital parked in risk-off trades.
• Traders see any extension of the war as fuel for elevated demand in the shiny metal — a classic hedge when uncertainty escalates.
• The $3,360 print comes as the dollar trades soft and bond yields retreat, reinforcing bullion’s appeal. If Trump and Zelensky can’t hammer out progress, the next leg for gold may well be higher, with $3,400 back in sight.