Gold steady, platinum up

LONDON, Apr 28 (Reuters): Gold prices steadied above $1,300 an ounce on Monday, underpinned by concerns that tensions in Ukraine could escalate, while platinum outperformed as a strike across the South African platinum belt entered a third month.
The stand-off between Russia and the West over Ukraine helped gold rebound towards the end of last week from the 2-1/2 month low it hit on Thursday at $1,268.24.
Spot gold was at $1,301.80 an ounce at 1146 GMT, little changed from $1,302.84 late on Friday, while U.S. gold futures for June delivery were down 40 cents an ounce at $1,300.70.
"The market is nearly flat, consolidating after Friday's gains, trading mostly on Ukraine headlines," VTB Capital analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov said. "The rebound at the end of last week was driven mostly by safe-haven buyers and some investor buying on new April lows. For now, all eyes will be on Ukraine."
US President Barack Obama announced new sanctions against some Russians on Monday aimed at stopping President Vladimir Putin from fomenting rebellion in eastern Ukraine but said he was holding broader measures against Russia's economy "in reserve".