Gold, silver back down from record highs on profit taking
NEW YORK (January 29) Gold and silver prices are lower near midday Thursday, on some profit taking from the shorter-term futures traders after prices hit record highs in early trading. Gold hit an all-time high of $5,626.80, basis April Comex futures, while silver hit $121.785, basis March Comex futures. The precious metals have been supported by safe-haven demand amid heightened geopolitical concerns, and as the U.S. dollar index wobbles. April gold was last down $49.00 at $5,290.60. March silver prices were down $0.934 at $112.54.
President Trump warned Iran to make a nuclear deal with the U.S. or face military strikes far worse than the attack he ordered last June, increasing pressure on the regime and propelling crude oil prices higher. In a social-media post late Wednesday, Trump said the fleet of U.S. ships he’d ordered to the region, led by the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, is “ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary,” Bloomberg reported. “Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal - NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS - one that is good for all parties,” Trump wrote. In response, Iran said it stands ready for dialogue based on mutual respect and interests but warned that “IF PUSHED, IT WILL DEFEND ITSELF AND RESPOND LIKE NEVER BEFORE,” the country’s mission to the United Nations said in a post on X. Trump has repeatedly warned Iran that the U.S. might launch another attack, but those threats have recently been linked to Tehran’s deadly crackdown on protests rather than its atomic activities. The heightened geopolitical tensions pushed crude oil prices to a six-month high, while safe-haven demand pushed gold and silver prices to all-time highs overnight.
Talks between top U.S. Senate Democrats and the Trump administration aimed at averting a federal government shutdown have moved closer to Democrats’ demands, according to a person familiar with the negotiations and as reported by Bloomberg. No deal has yet been reached, the person said late Wednesday night. Without an agreement, government funding will lapse on Saturday for much of the federal government, including the Departments of Defense and Health and Human Services. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has insisted Republicans agree to remove long-term Homeland Security funding from a massive spending bill to keep the government open past Friday. Some senators in both parties have said they could support a short-term stopgap measure for Homeland Security funding to give both sides more time to discuss potential restrictions on immigration enforcement operations. The Senate is set to hold the first procedural vote on the spending package this morning. Any single senator could trigger a brief government shutdown through procedural action, Bloomberg said.
The U.S. dollar index traded slightly down overnight and quickly lost traction from comments by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying the Trump administration supports a stronger U.S. currency. The USDX earlier this week dropped to a four-year low when President Trump said he was comfortable with the depreciation of the U.S. dollar because it is good for U.S. businesses. Bessent, speaking in an interview with CNBC Wednesday, said “the U.S. always has a strong dollar policy.” He also said the U.S. was “absolutely not” intervening in the Japanese currency market, rejecting speculation that had been building since Friday.
Copper prices rose by the most in more than 16 years as metals extended a dramatic start to the year fueled by a wave of intense speculative trading in China, Bloomberg reports. “Chinese investors are piling into metals as they ride a powerful wave of momentum that has lifted everything from tin to silver to record highs. The surge in copper took place at a time of day when Chinese traders dominate flows, with prices on the London Metal Exchange rising more than 5% in less than an hour starting at 2.30 a.m. London time. ‘This is all driven by speculative funds,’ said Yan Weijun, head of nonferrous metals research at Chinese trader Xiamen C&D Inc. ‘It’s likely all Chinese money given the surge is in Asian hours,’ ” said the Bloomberg report. Prices Thursday gained as much as 7.9% to trade above $14,000 a ton for the first time ever. The red industrial metal, which is used in almost every electrical application, has risen 25% since the start of December.
India’s gold imports are expected to fall this year as record prices crimp demand for jewelry, Bloomberg reports. Bullion imports may decline to between 600 and 700 tons in 2026, after dropping 11% to 710.9 tons in 2025. Global jewelry consumption volumes slumped to a five-year low of 1,542 tons in 2025, with Indian jewelry demand dropping 24% to 430.5 tons.
The key outside markets today see crude oil prices sharply up, at a six-month high and trading around $65.75 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index is slightly weaker and the U.S. 10-year Treasury note yield is presently 4.235%.
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