SINGAPORE, Jan 29, 2026, 06:22 (SGT)
Gold jumped 4% on Wednesday, closing in on $5,400 an ounce for the first time as investors bought the metal amid mounting economic and geopolitical uncertainty. Spot gold — the cash price for immediate delivery — was up 4% at $5,393.19 an ounce at 4:08 p.m. ET (2108 GMT), while February U.S. gold futures, contracts for later delivery, settled 4.3% higher at $5,303.60. 1
The surge came even as the Federal Reserve left rates unchanged and investors largely looked past Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks. “The rally in the precious metals has kind of taken on a life of its own at this point,” said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals, who warned gold is “overbought” — a technical term that can signal the price has risen too far, too fast. “Precious metals simply don’t care that the Fed is clearly in hiatus mode, rather than pause,” said Tai Wong, an independent metals trader. 2
In Washington, the Fed held its policy rate in the 3.50%-3.75% range after a two-day meeting, with Powell saying the economy had again surprised on the upside. Governors Christopher Waller and Stephen Miran dissented in favor of a quarter-point cut, the report said. 3
Trump, meanwhile, said he would soon announce his pick to lead the Fed and predicted borrowing costs would fall once the new chair takes over. “I’ll announce it pretty soon. You’ll see rates come down a lot,” he said during a speech in Iowa. 4
Spot gold extended its record run in early Thursday trade, moving above $5,400 an ounce, Reuters reported. 5
The rush has pulled in crypto-linked money as well. Stablecoin issuer Tether said it plans to allocate 10%-15% of its investment portfolio to physical gold — stablecoins are crypto tokens designed to hold a steady value, often pegged to the U.S. dollar — and said it holds about 130 metric tons of gold backing products. “For our own portfolio, it’s reasonable that we are going to have around 10% in bitcoin and 10% to 15% in gold,” CEO Paolo Ardoino said. 6
Bloomberg earlier linked the rally to dollar weakness after Trump said he was “not concerned” about the currency’s drop. 7
But the speed of the move leaves gold exposed if the mood shifts. A steadier dollar, firmer bond yields, or any easing in geopolitical tensions could prompt profit-taking after a sharp run.
For now, traders are braced for more volatility around Trump’s Fed chair decision and any hint of pressure on the central bank. Gold has already posted a big gain this year, and the market is still buying dips.
