BENGALURU: Gold prices scaled the $2,000 level for the first time in 1-1/2 years, as investors rushed to the safety of the metal in the wake of an escalating Russia-Ukraine crisis, while supply disruption fears sent palladium to an all-time high on Monday.

       Spot gold was up 0.5% to $1,977.89 per ounce, as of 0620 GMT, after scaling its highest since Aug. 19, 2020 at $2,000.69 earlier in the day. U.S. gold futures rose 0.9% to $1,984.40.

       "Gold will likely find some heavy traffic around the $2,000 level initially, but once it is cleared, assuming no change in the Ukraine situation, it will quickly move to the $2,100 region and on to new all-time highs," said OANDA senior analyst Jeffrey Halley.

       Fighting stopped about 200,000 people from evacuating the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol for a second day in a row on Sunday, as Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to press ahead with his invasion unless Kyiv surrendered.

       Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust, rose to their highest since mid-March 2021 on Friday. Spot gold may keep rising towards $2,065 per ounce, according to Reuters' technical analyst Wang Tao.

       Palladium was up 5% at $3,151.30 per ounce, after hitting an all-time high of $3,173 earlier in the session. Russia accounts for 40% of global production of the auto-catalyst metal, used by automakers in catalytic converters to curb emissions.

       "We're looking at a very significant pick-up in concerns around the disruptions with Ukraine seemingly because the conflict is showing signs of broadening," said Ilya Spivak, a currency strategist at DailyFX, pointing to speculations about more Western sanctions, perhaps even a formal ban on Russian oil imports.

       Spot silver was flat at $25.65 per ounce, while platinum jumped 1.8% to $1,141.00, hitting a near nine-month high earlier in the day. - Reuters