Gold Reaches $5300 an Ounce: Historic Rise Amid Dollar Weakness
Gold continues its unprecedented ascent, recording historic figures as it surpassed the $5300 per ounce mark in futures for the first time ever, driven by a sharp decline in the value of the U.S. dollar and rising geopolitical concerns worldwide.
Gold in spot transactions reached $5282.05 per ounce at 07:21 GMT, marking an increase of 1.97% since the beginning of the session and a rise of over 22% since the start of the year.
In U.S. markets, February futures jumped to $5305.7 per ounce, according to Reuters.
Kelvin Wong, senior market analyst at OANDA, confirmed that the rise in gold is linked to the "strong inverse relationship between it and the dollar," noting that the metal's gains came after U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks about the declining value of the dollar, which were seen as an indication of the White House's direction towards a weaker currency.
The U.S. dollar has fallen to levels described as a "crisis of confidence," after reaching a four-year low, with selling intensifying following Trump's statements that "the dollar is good," amidst data showing consumer confidence dropping to its lowest levels in over 11 and a half years in January, affected by a slowdown in the labor market and rising prices.
Trump indicated that he would soon announce the selection of a new Federal Reserve chair, with expectations of lower interest rates upon taking office, while the "Fed" is expected to keep interest rates unchanged at the January meeting.
In this context, Deutsche Bank predicted that gold could reach $6000 per ounce by the end of 2026, supported by increasing investment demand and a trend among central banks and investors towards non-dollar and tangible assets.
* Other Precious Metals See Significant Increases:
• Silver rose in spot transactions by 1.9% to reach $115.11 per ounce, after hitting an all-time high of $117.69 earlier this week, with a rise of 60% since the start of the year.
• Platinum increased by 2% to $2692.60 per ounce, after reaching a record level of $2918.80 on Monday.
• Palladium rose by 1.4% to $1961.68 per ounce.
Gold thus continues to affirm its status as a safe haven amid global market fluctuations, while investors closely monitor the movements of the dollar and U.S. economic data, searching for the next indicator of the precious metal's trajectory.
