Gold steadies as focus turns to Fed rate plans in thin trading

Gold steadied, after jumping 2% on Wednesday, with some Asian markets closed for Lunar New Year holidays and traders focused on the Federal Reserve’s next move on interest rates.

Bullion was near $4 970 an ounce on Thursday, after dip-buyers were active in the previous session following a two-day decline. The market has been unusually choppy since a historic rout at the turn of the month, which pulled gold back from an all-time peak above $5 595.

Fed officials appeared surprisingly wary of cutting rates when they met last month, according to the minutes of the US central bank’s January 27-28 policy meeting, released Wednesday. That could put the central bank on a collision course with Donald Trump, complicating the task of the president’s nominee for chair, Kevin Warsh. Trump has spoken in favour of lower borrowing costs, which would be a tailwind for non-yielding bullion.

Meanwhile, the dollar was following data underscoring a resilient American economy. US industrial production rose last month by the most in nearly a year, while a separate report showed orders for core capital goods increased by more than expected in December. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, a gauge of the US currency, advanced 0.5% on Wednesday, holding those gains early on Thursday.

Banks including BNP Paribas SA, Deutsche Bank AG and Goldman Sachs Group, have forecast that gold will resume an upward trend, with many of the factors that underpinned a multiyear rally still intact. Concerns over the Fed’s independence, as well as a wider move away from sovereign currencies and bonds, have supported bullion. Heightened geopolitical tensions have also enhanced its appeal.

Traders are watching developments in the Middle East, where nuclear talks between the US and Iran have so far been inconclusive. After negotiations in Geneva this week, a US official said Tehran’s officials would return in two weeks with detailed proposals to address gaps between the two sides, while a report by US-based news website Axios said any US military operation would likely be a weeks-long campaign.

Spot gold edged down 0.1% to $4 971.04 an ounce as of 11:21 a.m. in Singapore. Silver rose 0.1% to $77.2511. Platinum lost 0.1%, while palladium was up 0.3%.

© 2026 Bloomberg

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