2014.05.2605:59:55UTC+00Gold settles below $1,300 per ounce

Gold ended below $1,300 per ounce on Monday following it ended even for two straight weeks.

Billionaire chocolate manufacturer and pro-West Petro Poroshenko claimed the Ukrainian presidency Sunday. He vowed to clamp down pro-Russian rebels and bring the country closer to the West.

It was still uncertain on how Poroshenko could square the circle of turning strongly westward as Russia, Ukraine's key market and significant energy supplier, was deemed determined to keep a grip over the second most populous ex-Soviet republic, seizing a huge swathe of the borderlands between East and West.

"The relationship between Russia and the newly elected president in Ukraine will be key for gold prices. Since the new president is not pro-Russia, it could make Ukraine more divided. There is still a lot of uncertainty and political risk there, which could boost gold's safe-haven appeal," said Helen Kau, Analyst at UOB-Kay Hian Securities.

Spot gold was stable at $1,293.01 per following it finished flat for the second straight week. The metal has ended between $1,291 and $1,296 in the last seven sessions. The metal has profited 7% so far this year on the back of escalating tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine.

Meanwhile, platinum climbed 0.7% to $1,476.50 per ounce, not too far from an 8-1/2 month peak touched last week. Palladium also got 0.5% to $828.00 per ounce, close to a 2-1/2 year peak.