Gold tops USD 4,900/oz; silver and platinum extend record‑setting rally

Gold pushed past USD 4,900 per ounce for the first time on Thursday, powered by ongoing geopolitical tensions, a softer US dollar, and expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, while silver and platinum prices hit fresh record highs.

Spot gold climbed to a record peak of USD 4,917.65 per ounce, as of 01:51 p.m. ET (18:51 GMT).

US gold futures for February delivery settled 1.6% higher to USD 4,913.4 per ounce.

The US dollar slipped 0.4%, making greenback-priced bullion more attractive to overseas buyers.

“Geopolitical tensions, generally weak dollar, expectations for the Fed easing this year are all factors that are part and parcel of the macro de-dollarisation trend and are still impacting the demand (for gold),” said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals.

US President Donald Trump said he had secured total and permanent US access to Greenland in a deal with NATO, whose head said allies would have to step up their commitment to Arctic security to ward off threats from Russia and China.

But the details of any agreement were unclear, and Denmark insisted its sovereignty over the island was not up for discussion.

On the data front, the latest US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report showed consumer spending increasing in November and October, indicating a third straight quarter of strong growth.

Markets anticipate the US central bank will implement two quarter-percentage point rate cuts in the latter half of the year, raising non-yielding gold’s appeal.

“Short-term setbacks will be viewed as buying opportunities (for gold). We have been seeing the USD 5,000/oz level nearby and beyond that Fibonacci projection of USD 5,187.79/oz looks plausible,” Grant added.

Elsewhere, spot silver surged to a record high of USD 96.58/oz.

“Silver has a far more compelling fundamental narrative than gold.. Maybe it’s not a reserve asset in the way that gold is, but it still benefits from safe-haven flows and dollar weakness,” said Nikos Tzabouras, senior market analyst at Tradu.

Spot platinum rose 4.6% to a record high of USD 2,601.03. Palladium was up 3.3% to USD 1,900.59.

(Reporting by Sarah Qureshi and Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Joe Bavier and Shailesh Kuber)

Emerging market ETFs draw strong inflows on cheaper valuations amid market turmoil

Emerging market equity exchange-traded funds have attracted substantial inflows since the start of the year for their cheaper valuations and growth prospects, despite markets grappling with geopolitical tensions and a decline in global bond markets.

According to Refinitiv Lipper, emerging market equity ETFs have attracted about USD 14 billion in inflows so far this year, the highest among categories, and are set for a monthly record. The previous high of USD 10.9 billion was recorded in March 2021.

So far this year, US equity ETFs have recorded net outflows of USD 2.1 billion.

“Strong emerging market equity returns in 2025, which exceeded the US and international developed results, lifted interest, along with a weaker dollar and a search for growth outside of more expensive developed markets,” said Alan Kosan, head of strategy at Segal Marco Advisors.

“These factors are poised to attract investors new to the asset class as well as those rotating from other equity strategy exposures.”

The inflows have also been reinforced by a renewed “Sell America” trade, as investors trim exposure to richly valued US assets and rotate toward emerging markets with stronger growth visibility.

Underscoring the shift is the USD 3.7 billion outflow from US-focused equity ETFs this week, according to Lipper data, while emerging market equity ETFs attracted USD 2.7 billion.

James Fletcher, chief investment officer at Ethos Investment Management, pointed to tailwinds from South Korean and Taiwanese technology firms benefiting from artificial intelligence-related demand, rising commodity prices and a rotation into Chinese equities.

“We believe EM outperformance is more durable than just a short-term trade, because of structural growth in markets like Southeast Asia, India, and strong earnings growth estimates across EM broadly.”

This year, the MSCI Emerging Markets index has risen 5.4%, compared with 0.9% for the MSCI World index and 0.4% for the MSCI United States index.

The MSCI EM index’s forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio stands at 13.5, well below the MSCI World’s 19.9 and the MSCI United States index’s 22.3.

(Reporting By Patturaja Murugaboopathy; with additional reporting by Gaurav Dogra in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)

Dollar edges lower as Greenland concerns ease; Aussie jumps after jobs data

The safe‑haven dollar slipped on Thursday, while risk‑sensitive currencies such as the euro and sterling firmed after President Donald Trump dropped tariff threats and ruled out seizing Greenland by force, helping calm jittery markets.

The greenback recovered versus the euro on Wednesday on Trump’s remarks about Greenland, after losing a bit less than 1% between Monday and Tuesday. It was last down 0.49% to USD 1.1744 per euro, following a 0.35% rebound in the prior session. The dollar weakened 0.69% to 0.7899 Swiss francs.

New Personal Consumption Expenditures inflation data – the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge – were unveiled, showing that US consumer spending increased solidly in October and November, likely keeping the economy on track for a third straight quarter of strong growth.

Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of economic activity, rose 0.5% after rising by the same margin in October, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast consumer spending increasing 0.5% in November.

The Australian dollar rose to a 15-month high, buoyed by data showing an unexpected decline in the jobless rate.

The yen remained under pressure after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi this week called a snap election and pledged measures to loosen fiscal policy.

Trump’s threat to levy tariffs on allied nations resisting his ambition to control Greenland had spooked markets, triggering a broad selloff of US assets. Still, some analysts said there was little evidence of a real move out of the US dollar.

“This whole argument about European investors selling US assets is very hard to sustain,” said Bob Savage, head market strategist at BNY.

“This isn’t a ‘sell America’ story, it’s a risk‑management story,” he added. “We’re just seeing more hedging because volatility has risen after being at very low levels at the end of last year.”

Details of a framework for an agreement on Greenland were not yet known. However, “the most likely outcome is still that the next wave of excitement will pass us by after a brief period of volatility and that the market will refocus on central banks and interest rate differentials,” Savage said.

AUSSIE SET FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT DAILY RISE

The Aussie was last up 1.15% to USD 0.684, touching its strongest level since October 2024, and headed for a fourth straight daily gain, outperforming even as risk assets came under pressure this week.

“The strength of both the Australian and the New Zealand dollar is the latest example that speculation about moves in short-term interest rates in relation to central bank policy remains alive and well,” said Jane Foley, senior forex strategist at Rabobank.

The Japanese currency weakened 0.07% at 158.42 per US dollar, near last week’s 18-month trough of 159.45.

Analysts anticipate a hawkish tilt from the Bank of Japan at Friday’s policy meeting to help stabilise the yen, which is trading uncomfortably close to the 159-160 levels that are seen as intervention territory.

Japan’s super-long-dated government bonds extended gains on Thursday on the expectation that the finance ministry could take some measures to contain further rises in yields.

(Reporting by Hannah Lang; additional reporting by Stefano Rebaudo; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Tom Hogue, Emelia Sithole-Matarise, Andrew Heavens, and Rod Nickel)

Dollar gains after Trump agrees to outline of Greenland deal, backs off tariffs

The dollar moved sharply higher against the euro and the Swiss franc on Wednesday as US President Trump withdrew a threat to impose tariffs on a number of nations, saying he had reached an agreement on a framework of a future deal on Greenland with NATO.

Trump’s threats to levy tariffs on a number of nations for their stance on Greenland spooked markets and triggered a broad selloff in US assets, but his comments in Davos on Wednesday that he had he ruled out military action in the northern island offered investors some relief.

The euro was down 0.36% at USD 1.17, having risen more than 1% in the last two sessions. It hit USD 1.168 on Tuesday, its highest level since Dec 30.

The safe-haven Swiss franc was down 0.77% to 0.7958 per dollar, after gaining about 1.5% between Monday and Tuesday.

Trump vowed on Saturday to implement a wave of increasing tariffs from Feb 1 on European Union members Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland, along with Britain and Norway, until the US is allowed to buy Greenland, a step major EU states decried as blackmail.

Trump did not offer any details in a post to Truth Social on what the framework for a future deal with NATO would entail, but said as a result that he would not impose the tariffs.

The comments sparked a stock market rally, with the S&P 500 index up over 1.5%.

“We’re seeing a bit of a relief rally in markets,” said Matt Weller, global head of market research at StoneX.

“I really do think the details perhaps are not as relevant, even perhaps if they never come to light. The near-term crisis appears to be behind us, and we’ll wait to see what crops up next to drive sentiment.”

Still, European Union leaders are set to proceed with an emergency summit on Thursday to discuss options following Trump’s tariff threat, a council spokesperson said on Wednesday.

YEN ON THE ROPES, INTERVENTION TERRITORY IN FOCUS

The dollar was up against the Japanese currency, which faced its own selloff after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Monday called snap elections for Feb 8 and pledged measures to loosen fiscal policy.

The yen was last down against the dollar at 158.430. Investors closely watched Japanese government bonds (JGBs) which were hit hard early this week, but rebounded on Wednesday.

“The absence of strategic buyers in this segment has made price action more sensitive and amplified volatility. I expect this environment of elevated volatility to persist through 2026,” said Vincent Chung, co-portfolio manager at T. Rowe Price.

“A further sell-off in JGBs would seem to drag the dollar/yen towards intervention territory at 159/160,” said Chris Turner, global head of markets at ING.

“However, if the yen sell-off is a self-inflicted wound from the Japanese government policy, the effectiveness of intervention will become increasingly questionable.”

(Reporting by Hannah Lang in New York; additional reporting by Stefano Rebaudo; editing by Toby Chopra, Jason Neely, and Nick Zieminski)

Gold pares gains as Trump eases tariff rhetoric over Greenland

Gold prices trimmed gains on Wednesday, retreating from a record peak, after US President Donald Trump backed down from some of his sternest threats over Greenland.

Spot gold was up 0.3% at USD 4,778.51 per ounce by 3:10 p.m. ET (2010 GMT), after scaling an all-time high of USD 4,887.82 earlier in the session.

US gold futures for February delivery settled 1.5% higher at USD 4,837.50 per ounce.

Equity markets rebounded after Trump withdrew a threat to impose tariffs on a number of nations for their stance on Greenland, saying he had reached the outlines of a deal with NATO on the island’s future.

“So then the announcement on the European tariffs sent the stock market higher, erased most of the gains, and put some pressure on metals,” said RJO Futures senior market strategist Bob Haberkorn.

“You had a liquidation event here just based on the headline here. It doesn’t reverse the trend at all.”

Gold, seen as a safe store of value during economic and political instability, soared 64% in 2025 and is up 11% so far in 2026.

Meanwhile, conservative and liberal US Supreme Court justices signaled skepticism toward Trump’s bid to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook in a case with the central bank’s independence at stake.

The Fed is likely to hold its key interest rate through this quarter and possibly until Chair Jerome Powell’s tenure ends in May, according to a majority of economists polled by Reuters.

Lower interest rates are favourable for non-yielding gold.

Spot silver fell 3.6% to USD 91.17 an ounce, after hitting a record high of USD 95.87 on Tuesday.

“Silver’s rise to a three-digit number is looking quite possible given the price momentum we are seeing, but it will not be a one-way move. There could be some correction in prices and volatility can be higher,” said Soni Kumari, ANZ commodity strategist.

Spot platinum was down 0.1% to USD 2,460.20 per ounce after hitting a record USD 2,543.99 earlier in the day. Palladium fell 2.1% to USD 1,825.85.

(Reporting by Sarah Qureshi in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Anushree Mukherjee; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Shailesh Kuber)

Wall Street ends higher as investors cheer Greenland framework deal, averted tariffs

Wall Street ended higher on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 posting its biggest one-day percentage gain in two months, as investors were buoyed by news that a framework for an agreement on Greenland had been reached and the possibility of new US tariffs on European allies had been averted.

Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite also enjoyed milestone days, gaining the most in percentage terms since January 5 and December 19, respectively.

The advances stood in stark contrast to the previous day’s selloff, which had been the worst daily performance by all three benchmarks since October 10, and reflected the latest episode of US President Donald Trump initially using tariff threats to push his agenda before rolling back the rhetoric when a policy victory could be declared.

“We have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st.”

Wall Street benchmarks had been trading in positive territory at the time of the announcement, but soared in its wake as investors cheered the aversion of a potential new tariff war over the future of Greenland.

“I don’t think who owns Greenland has any immediate impact on anything, in terms of economics,” said Jason Pride, chief of investment strategy & research at Glenmede.

“What is the economic impact is whether we all start imposing tariffs on each other,” he added.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 588.64 points, or 1.21%, to 49,077.23, the S&P 500 gained 78.76 points, or 1.16%, to 6,875.62, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 270.50 points, or 1.18%, to 23,224.83.

MOMENTUM SWINGS

Before the mid-afternoon Greenland announcement, Wall Street had been broadly positive, as investors responded to Tuesday’s bruising selloff. However, while initial momentum had propelled benchmarks more than 1% higher, this energy had been ebbing by early afternoon.

While light on details, Trump’s announcement allowed markets to focus on the underlying strengths within the US economy, including strong earnings from banks.

The latest wave of results from lenders, including some of the largest superregional names, helped send the regional banking index soaring 4.7% to its highest close since November 2024.

Citizens Financial Group surged 7.1% to a record closing high, on the back of a 31.7% jump in quarterly profit. Truist Financial Corp. climbed 1.8% after recording higher interest income and fees from investment banking.

POSITIVE ENERGY

All the S&P 500 subsectors rose, led by energy. It was buoyed by Halliburton, which gained 4.1% after earnings beat estimates, while EQT Corp. and Expand Energy advanced 6.5% and 4.5% respectively, as natural gas prices hit a six-week high on cold weather.

United Airlines rose 2.2% after the carrier issued an upbeat outlook for the current quarter and the full year. Other airlines benefited from the positive sentiment, with Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and Southwest all gaining between 1.1% and 2.4%.

Meanwhile, Netflix dropped 2.2% after reporting a muted outlook in its latest earnings. The streaming giant’s stock was also weighed by a pause in share buybacks to help fund the purchase of Warner Bros Discovery’s studio and streaming businesses.

Kraft Heinz fell 5.7% after a regulatory filing showed Berkshire Hathaway may shed its 27.5% stake in the consumer company.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru and David French in New York; Additional reporting by Johann M Cherian; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Shilpi Majumdar)

Japan should respond ‘decisively’ to bond selloff, opposition head says

TOKYO – Japan should act decisively against excessive market moves, Yuichiro Tamaki, head of an influential opposition party, told Reuters on Wednesday, after a brutal selloff of Japanese government bonds sent a chill through global financial markets.

Tamaki, head of the Democratic Party for the People (DPP), said policymakers could correct the “abnormal” moves in assets through actions including buying back government bonds or reducing issuance of super-long notes.

The DPP is a smaller party than a newly formed opposition coalition, but it still commands a significant presence in parliament and holds a casting vote in key legislation and the ruling coalition’s economic policies.

“Market volatility is heightening significantly with somewhat abnormal moves seen,” Tamaki said, when asked about the sharp selloff in Japanese government bonds (JGB).

“The government and the Bank of Japan should respond decisively to excessive market moves,” said Tamaki.

Investors were desperately trying to come to grips with a meltdown in JGBs, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year paper having spiked 8.5 basis points in just two days, the sharpest rise since Japan loosened a cap on the benchmark bond yield in 2022.

The rout was sparked by comments from Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who on Monday announced a plan to call a snap general election for February 8 with a pledge to suspend by two years an 8% levy on food sales and reverse what she described as “excessively tight fiscal policy.”

Investors fear Japan could ramp up debt issuance to meet Takaichi’s expansionary fiscal agenda and worsen its already tattered finances.

FX MARKET INTERVENTION SHOULD BE PART OF PLAYBOOK

Tamaki said the government can consider buying back bonds or reducing issuance of 40-year JGBs, on top of sending a strong message to markets.

The Bank of Japan, for its part, can taper its bond-buying at a slower pace than currently scheduled, he added.

Japan should not rule out intervening in the currency market to prop up the yen, if such efforts to lower bond yields lead to an unwelcome decline in the currency, Tamaki said.

The market concern over Japan’s finances has also rippled through to the yen, while investors fret the BOJ’s slow pace of interest rate hikes may be fueling the risk of too-high inflation.

Since Takaichi became prime minister in October, her dovish fiscal and monetary credentials have tanked the yen by about 8% against the dollar to briefly hit an 18-month low of 159.45 JPY= last week – its lowest level since Japan last intervened in July 2024.

“I think the BOJ is moving in the right direction by normalizing monetary policy,” Tamaki said.

The BOJ should continue raising interest rates if small and mid-sized firms can sustain wage gains of around 5%, he added.

When asked about dominant market views, the BOJ will hike rates at a pace of roughly twice a year, he said: “It feels natural to me, though the BOJ should pay close attention to any sharp worsening of economic and job market conditions that could lead to rapid declines in wage growth.”

The BOJ ended a decade-long, massive stimulus and began tapering its huge bond buying in 2024, followed by several sequences of hikes in its short-term policy rate, including one to 0.75% from 0.5% last month.

Analysts polled by Reuters expect the BOJ to wait until July before raising rates again, with more than 75% of them expecting it to climb to 1% or higher by September.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara and Tamiyuki Kihara; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)

Trading Trump will be even harder in year two

NEW YORK – Investors’ confidence in an erratic political leader went about as well as could be expected. Prison operators and fossil-fuel extractors were among the most hotly anticipated stock-market beneficiaries as Donald Trump prepared to re-enter the White House. They turned out to be two of the worst-performing industries. As the US president takes a sledgehammer to the world order underpinning the country’s dominance, it will be twice as hard to make money by trying to interpret policy.

Few things played out as predicted after Trump took office exactly one year ago. US tariffs didn’t do the damage many foresaw, leaving market prognosticators wrong-footed yet again, as they were when oil and gas shares more than doubled under renewable-energy champion Joe Biden and healthcare companies defied the odds under Barack Obama. Similarly, GEO Group, a correctional facility builder, has lost nearly 50% of its value and energy giant ConocoPhillips 8% since Trump’s return.

Instead, Big Tech has benefited. Artificial intelligence contributed to seven of the 10 best performances among S&P 500 Index constituents over the past 12 months. Hard-drive manufacturer Western Digital led the way. Entertainment empire Warner Brothers Discovery also thrived, thanks to a USD 100 billion bidding war being waged by Netflix and Paramount Skydance at least partly because of the administration’s looser approach to trustbusting.

Even when it comes to M&A, however, Trump meddles in unpredictable ways that trip up investors. His United States Steel golden share is a case in point, while deals involving railway operator Union Pacific and TV broadcaster Tegna continue to hang in the balance. Big US banks also rallied thanks to laxer regulation, but the president’s recent call to cap credit-card interest rates at 10% caught many observers off-guard. A thawing relationship with JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon also may re-freeze after the president threatened to sue the mega-lender for allegedly discriminating against him after the January 6, 2021, protests on Capitol Hill.

Aggression against Greenland, Venezuela, Iran, and allies in Europe is the latest geopolitical development to tempt the search for alpha. Good luck with that, as it becomes harder to tell just how much Trump’s mercurial efforts to upend the United Nations and NATO will erode a peace dividend that fortifies US markets and the dollar’s reserve-currency status.

Strategists at Goldman Sachs, for one, recommend deglobalization investments, such as US-focused manufacturers and defense contractors, along with gold. As with the many and varied ideas espoused by money managers last January, there is sound logic behind the choices. And inevitably, Trump will render many of them spectacularly wrong.

CONTEXT NEWS

The S&P 500 Index has gained nearly 15% from January 20, 2025, when Donald Trump was inaugurated for his second term as US president, through January 16, 2026.

(By Stephen Gandel; editing by Jeffrey Goldfarb; production by Maya Nandhini)

Wall Street ends lower amid global selloff on Trump Greenland tariff threats

All three major Wall Street indexes closed well down on Tuesday, joining other global stock markets in a broad selloff triggered by concerns that fresh tariff threats from President Donald Trump against Europe could signal renewed market volatility.

The risk-off wave helped vault gold to fresh record highs, knocked stocks lower globally, and left US Treasuries wobbling under renewed selling pressure.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 143.12 points, or 2.04%, to end at 6,798.48 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 559.44 points, or 2.38%, to 22,955.94. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 869.18 points, or 1.76%, to 48,490.15.

Trump said on Saturday additional 10% import tariffs would take effect on February 1 on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Great Britain — all already subject to US tariffs.

The tariffs would increase to 25% on June 1 and continue until a deal was reached for the US to purchase Greenland, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. Leaders of Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, and Denmark have insisted the island is not for sale.

UNCERTAINTY RISES

The reinjection of tariff threats into global markets harkens back to April’s “Liberation Day,” when Trump’s levies on global trade partners pushed the S&P 500 to near bear market territory.

The CBOE Volatility Index, also known as Wall Street’s fear gauge, spiked to a two-month high.

While investor sentiment was frayed on Tuesday, the question being asked now is whether Greenland is a short-term jolt triggering a knee-jerk selloff, or something more substantial that will have longer implications for markets.

Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group, said he was not seeing indications that investors were fleeing.

“I’m not at the point yet where I’m willing to say what is happening with Greenland, and the resurgence of the tariff threat back and forth, is going to precipitate a correction in the equities markets,” he said, adding he would be surprised if there was a 3% to 5% drop this week.

BOND MARKETS SPILLOVER

A potentially more significant action, in Cox’s eyes, would be whether Japanese authorities intervene in financial markets.

Japanese government bonds plunged on Tuesday, sending yields to record highs, while Tokyo stocks and the yen also fell after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s call for a snap election shook confidence in the country’s fiscal health.

The moves helped push the cost of longer-term government bonds higher in other countries, including in Europe, with Greenland adding momentum, given the possibility of greater defense spending in Europe.

US Treasuries fell on Tuesday, with the selloff more pronounced on the long end of the curve.

Despite the geopolitical uncertainty around Greenland weighing on US equities sentiment, the US economy remains in a strong position.

Investors are due a host of fresh data this week on the state of the US economy, including the third-quarter US GDP update, January PMI readings, and the Personal Consumption Expenditures report, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge.

Earnings season is also kicking into higher gear. Several industry bellwethers, including Intel and Netflix, are set to report their quarterly earnings this week.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru and David French in New York; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Rod Nickel)

Gold notches record above USD 4,700/oz, silver hits all-time high

Gold climbed to another record high on Tuesday, scaling the unprecedented USD 4,700 an ounce milestone as escalating geopolitical tensions boosted safe-haven demand, while silver also broke above USD 95 for the first time.

Spot gold gained about 2% to USD 4,757.33 per ounce by 01:52 p.m. ET (18:52 GMT), after reaching a record high of USD 4,765.93 earlier in the day. US gold futures GCcv1 for February delivery settled 3.7% higher to USD 4,765.80/oz.

“Gold has surged deeper into uncharted territory as investors hedge against rising political risk,” said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index and FOREX.com.

“A softer dollar is providing an additional tailwind for precious metals, reinforcing gold’s rally at a time when confidence in US assets appears to be wobbling.”

Wall Street’s main indexes slid to a near three-week low on Tuesday, as investors were spooked by renewed tariff threats from President Donald Trump against Europe over control of Greenland.

The remarks have heightened tensions ahead of Trump’s expected meeting with global business leaders in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday.

The US dollar was set for its largest daily fall in over a month, making greenback-priced gold more affordable for overseas buyers.

Gold, seen as a safe store of value during economic and political instability, soared 64% in 2025 and has added another 10% since the start of the year. The metal’s rally has also been supported by expectations of US interest rate cuts, which reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

Markets are pricing in two rate cuts of 25-basis-points from mid-2026, while focus intensified after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Trump could name a new Federal Reserve chair as early as next week.

“USD 4,800 and USD 4,900 are the next obvious reference points (for gold), with the key USD 5,000 handle standing out as the longer-term psychological target,” Razaqzada added.

Spot silver slipped 0.3% to USD 94.38/oz, after hitting a record USD 95.87 earlier. The white metal added about 147% in 2025 and has gained more than 32% since the start of 2026.

Elsewhere, spot platinum added 2.3% to USD 2,429.60/oz, while palladium was up 1.1% at USD 1,861.61.

(Reporting by Sarah Qureshi in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

2024 Mid-Year Economic Briefing: Navigating the Easing Cycle

Investing with Love: A Mother’s Guide to Putting Money to Work

Investor Series: An Introduction to Estate Planning

Inflation Update: Green light for easing

December Economic Update: One for them, one for us