NEW YORK, December 30, 2025, 13:25 ET — Regular session
- Spot gold steadied near $4,373/oz in afternoon trade after Monday’s sharp pullback.
- Gold-linked ETFs and miners rose, with GLD up about 0.9% and Newmont up about 2.6%.
- Traders are watching the Fed’s December minutes at 2 p.m. ET for signals on how quickly rates might fall in 2026.
Gold prices rebounded on Tuesday and gold-linked shares traded higher in midday U.S. dealings, as investors positioned ahead of Federal Reserve minutes due later in the session. Spot gold was around $4,373 an ounce, up about 1% on the day, according to Kitco data.
The swing matters now because bullion’s late-year volatility is spilling into popular “gold proxy” trades — gold-backed ETFs that hold physical metal and large miners whose profits tend to move with the gold price. Gold is up about 66% in 2025, its biggest annual gain since 1979, Reuters reported. Reuters
Focus is on the Fed’s December meeting minutes, due at 2 p.m. ET, after the central bank’s Dec. 9-10 decision to cut rates drew an unusually split vote. The minutes are expected to show how high officials set the bar for more cuts in 2026, Reuters reported.
“Things have stabilised somewhat today, the trade remains generally favourable,” said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals. Reuters
The rebound followed a sharp bout of profit-taking — investors selling to lock in gains — that hit the market on Monday. Gold’s drop was its biggest daily percentage decline since Oct. 21 and followed Friday’s record high of $4,549.71 per ounce, Reuters said.
In U.S. trading, the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD) rose about 0.9% to $402.03. The VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) gained about 2.3% to $87.81.
Miner shares outpaced bullion trackers as the metal firmed. Newmont rose about 2.6% to $102.44, while Agnico Eagle gained about 1.3% and Wheaton Precious Metals added about 2.1% in midday trade.
Miners often move more than gold itself because changes in bullion prices can flow quickly into earnings expectations, while production costs tend to adjust more slowly. That leverage can also magnify drawdowns when gold slips.
Other precious metals also recovered after Monday’s slump. Silver rose 4.7% to $76.38 an ounce by late morning, Reuters reported, after a sharp drop a day earlier.
Currency markets remained cautious ahead of the Fed release, and year-end trading has been thin. The dollar advanced on Tuesday but is still on track for its worst year since 2017, Reuters reported, a backdrop that can matter for gold because the metal is priced in dollars.
Geopolitics stayed in the frame as Russia accused Ukraine of attacking a Russian presidential residence and said it would toughen its negotiating stance; Ukraine denied the allegation, Reuters reported. Gold is widely seen as a safe-haven asset during geopolitical stress.
For the rest of the session, traders will compare the Fed’s projections with market pricing. The Fed projected just one more rate cut next year, while markets have priced roughly two, Reuters reported — a gap the minutes could either narrow or widen.
Looking beyond today’s catalyst, some forecasters expect gold’s pace of gains to cool after a standout year. Investopedia reported that many analysts see gold settling in a roughly $4,000 to $5,000 per ounce range in 2026, after this year’s repeated record highs.
For gold-linked stocks, the near-term question is whether bullion can hold the rebound into the close and keep pressure off miners after Monday’s shakeout. A volatile reaction to the Fed minutes would likely show up first in the miners and gold ETFs that traders use for quick exposure.
