Gold prices rose on Wednesday after the United States said Russia was still building up troops around Ukraine.

Spot gold, which on Tuesday hit the highest level since June 2021 at around $1,879 per ounce, added 0.9% to $1,869.56. U.S. gold futures settled down 0.8% at $1,871.50.

“Gold is attracting a wide range of investors that are looking for protection as they are realizing that there’s not going to be a quick resolution to this (Russian-Ukraine) situation,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at brokerage OANDA.

“Gold has a clear path higher. However, it will have some moments where it will sell off because of more aggressive Fed tightening expectations.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that Russia has been moving critical units closer to Ukraine’s border, despite Moscow’s insistence it was pulling back.

Rising geopolitical tensions and U.S. rate hike expectations weighed on sentiment in financial markets, driving investors to seek safe-havens like gold.

The Fed will kick off its tightening cycle in March with a 25-basis-point hike to its benchmark overnight interest rate, a Reuters poll found.

“Once the Fed starts raising rates and … if it’s faster than expected you’ll see gold dropping, but I don’t see a collapse,” said Bernard Dahdah, an analyst at Natixis.

Rising interest rates increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

Data released on Wednesday showed U.S. retail sales rebounded sharply in January, but higher prices could blunt the impact on economic growth this quarter.