Gold price surges to record high and hovers near $2,800

Gold price skyrockets to a new all-time high (ATH) of $2,798 on Thursday after economic data from the United States (US) indicated the economy is slowing down, warranting the Federal Reserve (Fed) to lower interest rates despite holding them steady at Wednesday’s meeting. At the time of writing, the XAU/USD trades at $2,794, up 1.31%.

The yellow metal exploded on Thursday after being contained by the $2,770 figure for the last three days. US Treasury yields edged lower as traders grew disappointed following the last reading of 2024 of the fourth quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which, although expanding, did so at a lower rate than expected.

Meanwhile, the jobs market remains robust, as the number of people applying for unemployment benefits decreased compared to the previous reading, according to the US Department of Labor.

Bullion prices soared, although the Fed held rates unchanged on Wednesday. Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated that policy is well-positioned and that they are not in a rush to cut interest rates.

Daily digest market movers: Gold price ignores mixed US data

• US GDP for Q4 204 dipped from 3.1% in Q3 to 2.3%, missing the mark. According to the US Department of Labor, Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending January 24 fell to 207K, coming in lower than the expected 220K and the previous week's 223K.
• Gold’s advance is also sponsored by the fall of US yields. The US 10-year T-note yield dropped two basis points down to 4.516%. US real yields, as measured by the 10-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS), followed suit, tumbling two basis points to 2.138%.
• Bullion prices are also unfazed by a hawkish Fed, which unanimously voted to keep interest rates steady at 4.25% - 4.50% on Wednesday. The central bank cited a resilient US economy, limited progress in reducing inflation, and a recovering labor market as key factors behind the decision.
• While Trump’s plans are still unclear, he set a deadline of Saturday for tariffs of 25% on Mexico and Canada, and has also said he intends to impose across-the-board levies that are “much bigger” than the 2.5% figure previously suggested by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
• The swaps market is pricing 50 bps of Fed rate cuts in 2025.

XAU/USD technical outlook: Gold lurks near $2,800 as bulls’ eye $3,000

Gold’s uptrend has resumed with the precious metal hitting a record high of $2,798. Bulls path toward $2,800 is clear, and buyers could test key psychological levels like $2,850, $2,900 and $3,000.

Conversely, sellers must drag XAU/USD’s prices below $2,750, so they could remain hopeful of testing $2,700. Further downside is seen below the latter, with the next key support at $2,663, the confluence of the 50 and 100-day Simple Moving Averages (SMAs).