By Gina Lee

– Gold was down on Wednesday morning in Asia, as Treasury yields rose following U.S. and European sanctions on Russia offset safe-haven demand.

Gold futures were down 0.30% to $1,901.65 by 10:38 PM ET (3:38 AM GMT). The dollar, which normally moves inversely to gold, inched up on Wednesday morning.

U.S. President Joe Biden took measures that target Russia’s elites and sale of sovereign debt on Tuesday after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops in two breakaway regions in easter Ukraine.

The sanctions are to punish Russia’s economy but are not intended to hit energy markets, a senior U.S. State Department official said. Meanwhile, Germany paused a major gas pipeline project from Russia.

U.S. Treasuries edged higher following the sanctions.

Investors now expect the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates due to higher raw material costs in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine tension.

St. Louis Fed President James Bullard has been hawkish at the Federal Reserve, pushing for 100 basis points worth of rate hikes over the next three meetings.

In the Asia Pacific, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand hiked its interest rates for the third straight meeting and said that it plans a higher-than-expected interest rate to tame inflation.

In other precious metals, silver was up 0.2%, while platinum was flat at $1,075.75 and palladium rose 0.3%.