Gold (XAU/USD) pares part of its intraday gains to the $4,700 area, or a new all-time peak, although any meaningful corrective decline appears elusive amid a supportive fundamental backdrop. US President Donald Trump threatened to impose new tariffs on eight European countries that opposed his plan to seize Greenland. The announcement sparked sharp criticism from European officials and raised concerns about a broader trans-Atlantic trade dispute. This, coupled with rising geopolitical risks, is unleashing a new wave of global risk-off trading, pushing investors to seek refuge in traditional safe-haven assets and support the precious metal.
Meanwhile, trade war fears are sparking a crisis of confidence in US assets and pulling the US dollar away from its highest level since December 9, which it reached last week. This appears to be another factor providing additional support to the gold price. However, low bets on two more interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve in 2026 are preventing US dollar bears from placing aggressive bets and acting as a headwind for the non-yielding yellow metal. Investors also appear hesitant and are choosing to wait for further signals on the path of interest rate cuts by the Fed. Hence, the focus will be on the release of the US Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index and final Q3 GDP on Thursday.
Daily Summary Market Drivers: Gold may continue to benefit from the flight to safety and the weakness of the US dollar
- US President Donald Trump pledged on Saturday to impose additional 10% tariffs on goods coming from eight European countries from February 1, until the US is allowed to buy Greenland. Trump added that the rate is set to rise to 25% in June if an agreement is not reached.
- Major European Union countries condemned threats to impose tariffs on Greenland as blackmail, and France proposed responding with a range of previously untested economic countermeasures. This is renewing concerns about the trade war, pushing safe-haven gold to a new record high on Monday.
- Amid escalating tensions with the United States, Iran has issued a new warning that any attack on Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could lead to all-out war. Additionally, the growing conflict between Russia and Ukraine keeps geopolitical risks alive and benefits the safe haven commodity.
- Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Ssibha said there was evidence that Russia was considering attacks on key sites linked to nuclear power plants. President Volodymyr Zelensky added that the Russian strikes showed that they were not interested in diplomacy or ending the war.
- Trump said he prefers to keep National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett in his current position, indicating that someone else will be appointed to succeed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. This has forced investors to scale back their bets for more aggressive easing by the Fed.
- However, the US dollar is struggling to benefit from the shift in the likelihood of interest rate cuts by the Fed in 2026 and is retreating sharply from its highest level since December 9, which it touched last week. This appears to be another factor contributing to the precious metal’s strong intraday rally.
- Traders are now looking to the release of the US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index and the final US Q3 GDP reading for fresh momentum on Thursday. However, the fundamental backdrop appears to be favoring the XAU/USD bulls and supports the case for further gains.
Gold is pulling back from ascending channel resistance, ahead of the $4,700 level
The price of gold has risen from the late October low along an upward channel, indicating a well-established short-term uptrend. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator is holding above the zero line and has improved over recent sessions, indicating strengthening bullish momentum. The RSI at 69.96 is near the overbought zone, limiting the gold price near ascending channel resistance.
Rejection at the upper band will shift focus to support at $4,406.94, where the channel structure is expected to attract bids. A sustained close above resistance would extend the advance, while a pullback would keep the consolidation phase within the channel in play and delay the extension of the new trend.
(The technical analysis for this story was written with the help of an artificial intelligence tool.)
US dollar price today
The table below shows the percentage change in the US Dollar (USD) against the major currencies listed today. The US dollar was the strongest against the Japanese yen.
| US dollars | euro | GBP | JPY | Canadian | Australian dollar | New Zealand dollar | Swiss franc | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US dollars | -0.24% | -0.22% | -0.06% | -0.20% | -0.18% | -0.39% | -0.49% | |
| euro | 0.24% | 0.02% | 0.18% | 0.04% | 0.07% | -0.15% | -0.25% | |
| GBP | 0.22% | -0.02% | 0.19% | 0.03% | 0.05% | -0.17% | -0.27% | |
| JPY | 0.06% | -0.18% | -0.19% | -0.16% | -0.14% | -0.35% | -0.45% | |
| Canadian | 0.20% | -0.04% | -0.03% | 0.16% | 0.03% | -0.19% | -0.30% | |
| Australian dollar | 0.18% | -0.07% | -0.05% | 0.14% | -0.03% | -0.22% | -0.33% | |
| New Zealand dollar | 0.39% | 0.15% | 0.17% | 0.35% | 0.19% | 0.22% | -0.11% | |
| Swiss franc | 0.49% | 0.25% | 0.27% | 0.45% | 0.30% | 0.33% | 0.11% |
The heat map shows the percentage changes in major currencies versus each other. The base currency is chosen from the left column, while the counter currency is chosen from the top row. For example, if you select USD from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
