New York, Feb 7, 2026, 12:11 (EST) — The market has closed.
China’s central bank kept up its gold-buying streak for a 15th month in January, bringing reserves to 74.19 million fine troy ounces, worth $369.58 billion, according to official data out Saturday. The yellow metal last traded near $4,960 an ounce—after a wild spike to almost $5,600 in January, then a sharp drop to $4,403.24 on Monday. Despite a 3.75% dip in China’s gold consumption for 2025, down to 950 metric tons, the China Gold Association said purchases of bars and coins soared 35.14%, accounting for over half of demand.
The ongoing presence of official buying stands out, especially now that futures trading has grown more volatile and pricier for those using leverage. CME Group bumped up margin requirements once again—raising the cash needed to hold COMEX 100 Gold Futures from 8% to 9% for certain accounts, starting after Friday’s close. That’s the third hike since CME switched to percentage-based margins in mid-January, following a series of sharp moves in gold and silver prices.
It’s a market caught between central bank demand and funding getting pricier — all of which means volatility can flare up fast. Traders are watching to see if the latest selloff has run its course, or if it just pushed out the most fragile positions.
Gold bounced back Friday, lifted by a softer dollar and some bargain-hunting after Thursday’s drop. By 2:18 p.m. ET, spot gold was up 3.9% at $4,954.92 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for April delivery closed 1.8% higher, settling at $4,979.80. “The gold market is seeing perceived bargain hunting from bullish traders,” Kitco Metals senior analyst Jim Wyckoff said, though he added the move seemed weak without new geopolitical headlines. Reuters
The previous day flipped the script. As the dollar strengthened and stocks took a beating, metals saw a wave of selling. Spot gold slid 1.8% to $4,872.83; April futures gave up 1.2% to finish at $4,889.50. Spot silver tumbled 12.1%, landing at $77.36, after dropping as low as $72.21 during the session. “Some people are facing margin issues and may be covering metal positions because of losses in equities,” RJO Futures’ Bob Haberkorn said, with volatility refusing to let up. Reuters
Still, there’s a risk on the table. Should the dollar rebound, or if geopolitical tensions lose steam and the safety trade fades, higher margins could push leveraged traders to sell in a hurry. That sort of unwind can yank gold and gold-related equities lower, regardless of the broader outlook holding steady.
Markets are eyeing the latest U.S. numbers, with key data postponed into next week after a short-lived government shutdown. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics now plans to put out the delayed January jobs report on Wednesday. Inflation figures for January, tracked by the CPI, drop Friday morning at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.
Those numbers plug right into rate-cut bets and dollar moves — lately, either one has meant just as much to gold as any headline out there. For bullion, once trading starts up again, it boils down to this: can it stay anchored near $5,000, or is the market about to chase fresh lows?
