COMEX gold futures continues to hold around lifetime highs on Wednesday morning in Asia following an over 1% surge in the previous session to hit a fresh record high above $3800 mark late yesterday. Escalating geopolitical tensions in Russia is keeping safe haven demand for the yellow metal intact. NATO reportedly warned Russia that it would use "all necessary military and non-military tools" to defend itself as it condemned Moscow for violating Estonian airspace in "a pattern of increasingly irresponsible behaviour”. Meanwhile, Powell said on Tuesday that the central bank faces a "challenging situation" with ongoing risks of faster-than-expected inflation, while weak job growth raises concerns about labor market health. Any resurgence in dollar index well above 97 could however limit upside for the precious metal that is currently quoting at $3797.90 an ounce, down around half a percent on the day and after hitting a lifetime high of $3824.60 recorded late yesterday.