New York, January 23, 2026, 06:11 (EST) — Premarket
Gold climbed to a fresh record on Friday, pushing close to $5,000 an ounce before pulling back slightly in early trading. Spot gold slipped 0.4% to $4,917.37 per ounce by 0851 GMT, after hitting a session high of $4,967.03. U.S. gold futures for February rose 0.2% to $4,921.70. “Faith in the U.S. and its assets have been shaken, maybe permanently,” said Kyle Rodda, senior market analyst at Capital.com. Reuters
Gold’s surge at the start of 2026 is shaking up investor calculations, prompting a fresh look at risk and the dollar’s influence. On Thursday, bullion climbed above $4,900 for the first time. Traders pointed to a softer dollar index — which tracks the greenback against key currencies — alongside steady bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts later this year. “Those factors are part and parcel of the macro ‘de-dollarisation’ trend,” said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals. Silver and platinum also hit new highs in the rally. Reuters
U.S. data left the rates story largely intact. The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index — the Fed’s go-to inflation measure — climbed 0.2% in November and was up 2.8% year-over-year. Consumer spending also increased by 0.5% in both October and November, according to the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, which released the numbers after a 43-day government shutdown. Reuters
Goldman Sachs raised its gold price forecast for the end of 2026 to $5,400 an ounce, up from $4,900. The bank highlighted growing demand from private-sector buyers and emerging market central banks diversifying into bullion. “We assume private sector diversification buyers … don’t liquidate their gold holdings in 2026,” it said, though it cautioned that a sudden drop in macro-policy risks could prompt hedge unwinds, putting downward pressure on prices. Reuters
Physical markets are starting to feel the pressure from the rally. In India, premiums surged to $112 an ounce above official domestic prices this week — the highest level since May 2014 — as investors rushed to buy ahead of the Feb. 1 budget, which some anticipate will include an import duty hike. “With a duty hike expected in the budget, investors jumped in and bought aggressively,” said Chanda Venkatesh, managing director of Hyderabad-based bullion merchant CapsGold. Reuters
U.S. markets are eyeing the Fed’s upcoming two-day meeting on Jan. 27–28. The policy decision and Chair’s press briefing will come on Jan. 28. Federal Reserve
The rally isn’t guaranteed to hold. A dollar bounce, rising yields, or hints the Fed won’t rush to ease might push quick traders to exit crowded longs, especially as gold edges closer to the $5,000 mark.
Traders are focused on two key points: can bullion stay above the previous breakout level around $4,900, and will the Fed’s message on Jan. 28 confirm or challenge the market’s expectations for rate cuts this year.
