Gold retreats again as traders take profits after two-day bounce

Spot gold declined 0.3% to $5 042.42 an ounce at 10:13 a.m. in London.

Gold steadied above $5 000 after a two-day gain, as investors assess whether prices have found a floor following a historic selloff.

Spot gold traded in a narrow range on Wednesday, while silver fell. Bullion has retreated about 10% since hitting a record on January 29, though it remains firmly higher for the year.

A surge in precious metals driven by speculative demand came to a swift halt at the end of January, when silver suffered its biggest daily drop on record and gold plunged the most since 2013. However, many of the factors that underpinned the multiyear rally — heightened geopolitical risks, elevated central-bank buying and lower interest rates — remain in play.

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“The recent bout of volatility has called into question the value of gold as a hedge against geopolitical and market swings,” Mark Haefele, global wealth management chief investment officer at UBS Group AG, wrote in a note. “We believe such worries are overdone, and that the rally in gold will resume.”

Many banks and asset managers, including Deutsche Bank AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., have backed a recovery in bullion. Underscoring resilient official demand, the Chinese central bank extended its gold buying to a 15th month in January.

Along with persistent geopolitical risks, Trump’s chosen Fed chair Kevin Warsh has advocated for lower rates, according to UBS’s Haefele. “This should support gold, even if longer-term worries about the value of the dollar abate.”

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Looking ahead, data due later this week will offer clues on the path of Fed policy. The January jobs report on Wednesday is expected to show signs of the labour market stabilising, while inflation data is scheduled for Friday.

Spot gold declined 0.3% to $5 042.42 an ounce at 10:13 a.m. in London. Silver fell 1.7% to $81.96. Platinum and palladium also traded lower. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, a gauge of the US currency, was little changed after losing 0.6% in the previous session.

© 2026 Bloomberg

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