1. Renewed geopolitical tensions over the weekend are providing fresh momentum to precious metals, with safe-haven demand driving gold and silver prices to new all-time highs above $4,660 and $94 an ounce, respectively. The renewed trade war is taking its toll on the U.S. dollar, helping to propel gold and silver higher. David Morrison, Senior Market Analyst at Trade Nation, noted that safe-haven demand is overshadowing growing headwinds in the precious metals space, as markets continue to expect the Federal Reserve will keep rates unchanged until at least June. “Despite reduced expectations for multiple Fed rate cuts later in 2026, gold’s upward momentum remained intact, supported by a broader loss of confidence in other U.S. assets. The metal continues to attract defensive flows as investors are forced to update their risk outlook across global markets,” he said. Silver continues to outperform gold as it benefits from its role as both a monetary metal and from ongoing supply-chain issues. “Prices remain elevated, and there’s scant evidence that buyers are being put off, despite the daily MACD suggesting that silver is very overbought. The prevailing view amongst the bulls is that silver is in short supply, while demand from both investors and industry remains strong.”
2. U.S. stocks posted hefty losses early Tuesday after President Trump reignited trade-war tensions with Europe over Greenland, while a Japan-led global bond sell-off reverberated through markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 sank around 1.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite retreated 1.5% as investors fled riskier bets on the heels of a losing week for Wall Street stocks. Treasury yields jumped to their highest levels in four months as a sell-off in Japanese bonds added pressure on U.S. debt. In other assets, the dollar fell to a two-week low as the “Sell America” trade returned, and haven seekers drove gold and silver to yet more record highs. Nvidia and Broadcom led Big Tech stocks down as investors rotated out of AI-linked equities, highlighting ongoing concerns over a market bubble.
3. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its year-end gold price forecast by more than 10%, reflecting growing private-sector diversification into bullion on top of already-strong demand from central banks and exchange-traded funds. The bank raised its December 2026 price target to $5,400 an ounce, from a prior forecast of $4,900. Gold has risen more than 70% over the past 12 months, smashing successive records on a scorching rally that has continued into the early weeks of this year. Central-bank buying is expected to average 60 tons a month in 2026, with monetary authorities in emerging markets likely to continue the structural diversification of their reserves into gold.
4. In the week ending January 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 200,000, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 198,000 to 199,000. The 4-week moving average was 201,500, a decrease of 3,750 from the previous week’s revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since January 13, 2024, when it was 200,000. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 from 205,000 to 205,250.
5. Oil prices rose on Friday after President Donald Trump flagged potential military action against major producer Iran, raising concerns over more supply disruptions in the Middle East. At 07:55 ET, Brent oil futures for March jumped 1.8% to $65.19 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 1.8% to $60.43 a barrel. Despite logging some losses in earlier sessions, crude was headed for a fifth straight week of gains, amid expectations of improving demand and as markets priced in a greater risk premium amid heightened global geopolitical tensions.
6. The Euro (EUR) trades flat against the U.S. Dollar on Friday, as traders show a muted reaction to the latest economic data. At the time of writing, EUR/USD is hovering near 1.1750 and remains on track for its first weekly gain in three weeks amid sustained weakness in the Greenback.
7. USD/JPY declines sharply toward 158.00 after rising above 159.00 in the European session on Friday. The Bank of Japan left its monetary policy settings unchanged following the first policy meeting of the year, as expected, but Governor Ueda noted that a weak Japanese Yen could lead to higher import costs and be passed on to domestic prices.
Silver has hit what has been a much-anticipated target since the second half of last year. The precious metal is looking to end the week above $100 an ounce. Spot silver is on track to end the week up 12%, following last week’s 12% rally. While the price action looks wild and frothy, many analysts have said that these elevated prices make sense in a world facing extreme geopolitical and economic uncertainty. Analysts say that both gold and silver rallies, while extremely overextended, are driven by solid fundamentals. In an interview, Chris Vecchio, head of futures strategies and forex at Tastylive.com, said that there is solid demand for assets that are not tethered to the fiat world. “You’re not really going to go into silver if you’re a central bank. It’s just too tethered to industrial processes. But if you’re an institution or a private investor, silver has been the attractively cheap little brother in the precious metals,” he said. “The U.S. dollar doesn’t bedrock foundational trust that it once did, so investors are turning to alternative real assets.” Paul Williams, Managing Director at Solomon Global, said that he sees silver’s momentum continuing to be driven by sustained industrial demand, rising retail investor interest (and FOMO), safe-haven appeal, and an increasing structural supply deficit.
Powered by strong consumer spending, the U.S. economy grew at the fastest pace in two years from July through September, the government said Thursday in a slight upgrade of its first estimate. America’s gross domestic product, the nation’s output of goods and services, rose at a 4.4% annual pace in the third quarter, up from 3.8% in the April-June quarter and from the 4.3% growth the department initially estimated. The economy hasn’t grown faster since third-quarter 2023. Consumer spending, which accounts for 70% of U.S. GDP, grew at a healthy 3.5% pace.
The dollar is poised for its worst week since June as unpredictable U.S. policymaking weighed on the currency ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve meeting. The Dollar Spot Index fell to a three-week low on Friday and is down 0.8% over five days. Options traders are now paying a premium to hedge against further dollar losses over the next month, a sharp reversal from a week ago when bullish sentiment on the greenback was the highest since November. The fact that the greenback is sliding, even as Treasury yields rise on bets a resilient economy will keep the Fed on hold — suggests political risks are a bigger factor for the currency than monetary policy.
Volatility should be expected to remain high as investors will be closely watching for hints on the upcoming monetary policy direction. Many investors have redoubled their efforts to ensure that their portfolios are sufficiently diversified in the hope that they will be able to withstand corrections in multiple market sectors. Many of these investors have included physical precious metals as part of their diversification plans, given their long history as a hedge against both inflation and during times of economic turmoil. Remember, the key to profitability through the ownership of physical precious metals is to own the physical product and hold it for the long term. Always remember that you should never overextend your ability to maintain ownership of your precious metals over the long run.
Trading Department – Precious Metals International Ltd.
Friday to Friday Close (New York Closing Prices)
| Jan. 16, 2026 | Jan. 23, 2026 | Net Change | ||
| Gold | $4,581.51 | $4,964.64 | 383.13 | 8.36% |
| Silver | $88.66 | $100.72 | 12.06 | 13.60% |
| Platinum | $2,313.76 | $2,748.91 | 435.15 | 18.81% |
| Palladium | $1,789.60 | $2,001.41 | 211.81 | 11.84% |
| Dow | 49359.33 | 49100.59 | -258.74 | -0.52% |
Previous Year Comparison
| Jan. 24, 2025 | Jan. 23, 2026 | Net Change | ||
| Gold | $2,773.71 | $4,964.64 | 2190.93 | 78.99% |
| Silver | $30.68 | $100.72 | 70.04 | 228.29% |
| Platinum | $953.62 | $2,748.91 | 1795.29 | 188.26% |
| Palladium | $990.30 | $2,001.41 | 1011.11 | 102.10% |
| Dow | 44424.25 | 49100.59 | 4676.34 | 10.53% |
Here are your Short-Term Support and Resistance Levels for the upcoming week.
| Gold | Silver | |
| Support | 4583/4524/4454 | 87.83/82.06/77.19 |
| Resistance | 4654/4713/4783 | 95.71/101.48/109.36 |
| Platinum | Palladiumn | |
| Support | 2353/2257/2182 | 1819/1711/1610 |
| Resistance | 2429/2525/2601 | 1920/2027/2128 |