New York, January 15, 2026, 17:04 EST — After-hours trading.
- SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) slipped 0.6% in after-hours trading, pulling back from Wednesday’s record high in bullion.
- A surprise decline in U.S. jobless claims pushed the dollar up and nudged yields higher
- Traders are eyeing the Jan. 22 U.S. PCE inflation report alongside the Fed’s policy meeting later that month
SPDR Gold Shares dipped in after-hours trading Thursday, following a slight drop in gold prices as a robust U.S. jobs report boosted the dollar.
GLD, the largest gold-backed ETF, fell 0.6% to $423.33.
This shift is significant, given bullion’s recent rally. Investors have been turning to gold as a safe haven amid political turmoil and rate uncertainty. Yet, the latest data and headlines put that theory to a mild test this week.
Spot gold dipped 0.1% to $4,614.93 an ounce in U.S. afternoon trading, after touching a record high of $4,642.72 on Wednesday. Meanwhile, U.S. February futures closed down 0.3% at $4,623.70. Peter Grant, VP and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals, pointed out that “the dollar index is at a multi-week high,” which is “providing a bit of a headwind for gold.” (Reuters)
Initial jobless claims dropped by 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 198,000 for the week ending Jan. 10, the Labor Department reported—well under economists’ forecast of 215,000. Nancy Vanden Houten, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, described the labor market as showing “at least stable labor market conditions.” (Reuters)
The dollar index, measuring the greenback against a group of major currencies, climbed to a six-week peak near 99.49 following the data release. Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury yield ticked higher to about 4.162%. Rising yields tend to weigh on demand for non-yielding assets such as gold. (Reuters)
Inflation remains a key variable. The Labor Department reported that U.S. consumer prices climbed 0.3% in December, with core inflation ticking up a modest 0.2%. Stephen Stanley, chief U.S. economist at Santander U.S. Capital Markets, noted January often shows stronger core inflation and suggested policymakers might “reserve judgment” until additional monthly data arrives. (Reuters)
Gold’s safe-haven appeal eased slightly after President Donald Trump took a milder stance on Iran and made it clear he doesn’t intend to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, despite an ongoing criminal probe by the Justice Department into Powell.
iShares Gold Trust (IAU) slipped 0.6% to $86.71 in after-hours trading. Newmont held steady, closing near $114.21.
The trade can shift fast. Should inflation remain stubborn or U.S. data continue to surprise on the strong side, traders might delay rate-cut expectations, which would keep the dollar buoyant and weigh on gold-backed funds.
Coming next is the long-awaited Personal Income and Outlays report for October and November 2025, which features the PCE price index—the Fed’s preferred inflation measure. It’s set for release on Jan. 22 at 10:00 a.m. ET, just days before the Fed’s policy meeting on January 27-28. (Bureau of Economic Analysis)
