Gold futures, trading little changed in New York, are poised to gain as concern that tensions between Ukraine and Russia will escalate boost demand for a haven asset.

Separatists shot down two Ukrainian fighter jets in the same region where Malaysian Air Flight MH17 was destroyed last week, the government said. Investors increased bullion holdings through exchange-traded funds for four straight weeks amid the violence in Eastern Europe and as Israel launched an offensive against Gaza.

Prices rallied 8.8 percent this year through yesterday, even as analysts including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. forecast declines. The European Union is weighing limiting Russia’s access to capital markets.

“Tension between Ukraine and Russia is keeping prices supported,” Blake Robben, a senior market strategist at Archer Financial Services in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. “We are seeing gold’s haven premium rise.”

Gold futures for December delivery added 0.2 percent to $1,310.10 an ounce at 10:31 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Prices fell 1.1 percent in July through yesterday.

The metal plunged 28 percent in 2013, the biggest annual drop in three decades, amid signs of rebounding U.S. economic growth.

“Without the current geopolitical risks, gold would not be able to hold on to prices above $1,300,” UBS AG analysts wrote in a report today. “Such risks are holding potential shorts back.”

Silver futures for September delivery fell less than 0.1 percent to $21 an ounce in New York.