London, February 14, 2026, 17:04 (GMT) — The market is closed.
Gold surged more than 2% Friday, lifted by a weaker U.S. inflation print that reignited hopes for rate cuts and pulled bullion out of its slump for a weekly advance. Spot gold traded up 2.1% at $5,022.06 an ounce, marking a 1.2% rise for the week. U.S. gold futures for April settled at $5,046.30, up 2%. Silver didn’t lag, climbing 3.4% to $77.70. “Relief rally,” said independent metals trader Tai Wong, reacting to the CPI numbers. Reuters
Interest-rate futures pushed the probability of a June Fed rate cut to almost 70% after the CPI numbers landed, and the market now expects around 64 basis points of easing for the year. Gold, which doesn’t yield interest, tends to shadow those shifts—a basis point equals 0.01 percentage point. If CPI remains in check, “the rates discussion will revert back to the labor market,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management. Reuters
The previous day’s dip below $5,000 rattled the market, squeezing out weaker hands. Spot gold ended Thursday down 2.8% at $4,938.69. Fawad Razaqzada of City Index and FOREX.com pointed to clustered stop-losses under $5,000, saying they “cause a cascading-like effect” as the price unwound. Reuters
Consumer prices ticked up 0.2% in January, per the Labor Department. Strip out food and energy, and core CPI logged a 0.3% monthly gain and climbed 2.5% year-over-year—the slowest pace in almost five years. “Price pressures remain a little too hot for comfort,” said James McCann, senior economist at Edward Jones. Reuters
Gold dealers in India swung to offering discounts—up to $12 an ounce below official prices—after almost a month in premium territory, with last week’s premiums reaching as much as $70. Over in China, demand held up ahead of the nine-day Lunar New Year break kicking off Feb 15. The People’s Bank of China just extended its gold-buying streak to a 15th month. “High prices have dampened demand but it still remains positive” on the mainland, independent analyst Ross Norman noted. Reuters
Bullion sits idle as the weekend break lines up with a U.S. holiday stretch. According to CME Group’s 2026 calendar, Globex trading will follow a Presidents Day schedule from Feb 15 through Feb 17. Fewer trading hours often mean wider gaps and more action from momentum traders.
Gold’s caught between easing inflation and a jobs market that might force the Fed to stay wary. The dollar, yields, and positions are all shifting quickly. That $5,000 mark? It’s become a sort of tripwire.
Still, the rally comes with strings attached. Should next week’s data reignite persistent inflation fears, yields might shoot up, possibly triggering fresh profit-taking. High prices, meanwhile, could continue to deter jewellery buyers.
U.S. markets are closed Monday for a holiday before attention swings to the Fed’s meeting minutes set for Feb 18. Then, on Feb 20, the data calendar packs in core PCE inflation—the Fed’s go-to metric—plus the first Q4 GDP estimate and the flash PMI surveys. How those numbers land will dictate if Friday’s action sticks or not.
