NEW YORK, December 31, 2025, 03:47 ET — Market closed
- Spot gold slipped 0.4% to $4,329.12/oz in thin year-end trading, after Friday’s record high.
- U.S. gold futures fell 1%, while silver slid 5.6% as investors booked profits into the year-end.
- Gold-backed ETFs and miner stocks are set to take their cue from bullion when U.S. trading resumes.
Gold prices edged lower on Wednesday as year-end profit-taking and a firmer dollar cooled the latest surge, with spot gold down 0.4% at $4,329.12 an ounce by 2:56 a.m. ET. U.S. gold futures for February fell 1% to $4,340.90, pulling back from Friday’s record $4,549.71 even as bullion remains up more than 60% in 2025; spot silver slid 5.6% to $72.20. “Maybe towards the end of the first quarter, we could see gold test $5,000,” said Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive. Reuters
The late-year wobble matters because bullion has turned into a centerpiece macro trade in 2025, and portfolios tend to rebalance hard into calendar turns. Those flows can force quick repositioning in metals-linked funds and mining shares when the U.S. session reopens.
Gold is a “safe haven” — an asset investors buy when they want protection against shocks — but it still trades like a rates market at times. With holiday liquidity thin, small moves in the dollar and bond yields can swing prices more than usual.
Treasury yields have remained a key pressure point because higher yields raise the opportunity cost of holding gold, which pays no interest. The U.S. 10-year yield rose to 4.13% on Dec. 30, Trading Economics data showed.
Gold’s pullback followed sharp two-way trade this week, after a bout of profit-taking knocked prices off record highs and then drew buyers back in. Spot gold rose 0.8% to $4,364.70 on Tuesday after Monday marked its biggest daily percentage loss since Oct. 21, Reuters reported, as traders digested a divided Federal Reserve debate over the December rate cut.
The broader backdrop remains supportive, with investors still weighing the outlook for U.S. monetary easing, central bank demand and flows into funds that hold physical bullion. Investing.com said gold was still set for a gain of more than 60% in 2025, despite the late-year drift lower.
In gold-linked stocks, SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) — a U.S.-listed exchange-traded fund that trades like a stock while holding bullion — last traded at $398.89, up 0.07%, according to Barchart data.
Among miners, traders often use the big names as a levered proxy for the metal because profits can rise faster than gold when prices climb. Barrick Mining (B) last traded at $44.24, while its last after-hours price was $43.63, down 1.38%, Investing.com data showed.
Before the next session, investors will keep an eye on how quickly markets reprice the path for U.S. rates, a key driver for the dollar and real yields. The Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting runs Jan. 27–28, according to the central bank’s calendar.
The near-term macro calendar also matters because data can jolt rate expectations quickly at the start of a new year. The U.S. Employment Situation report for December 2025 is scheduled for Jan. 9 at 8:30 a.m. ET, the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows.
