WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold prices posted sharp gains on Friday, scaling a fresh record high, as ongoing geopolitical conflicts as well as a fresh U.S military offensive in Nigeria raised the safe-haven demand for the precious metal.
Front Month Comex Gold for December delivery jumped by $48.50 (or 1.08%) to $4,529.10 per troy ounce. Gold skyrocketed by $167.70 (or 3.85%) per troy ounce for the week.
Front Month Comex Silver for December delivery skyrocketed by $5.455 (or 7.68%) to $76.486 per troy ounce. Silver catapulted by $9.6410 (or 14.42%) per troy ounce for this week.
Notably, this is a new record high for both gold and silver prices, which have increased consecutively for three and five weeks, respectively.
U.S. President Donald Trump has long been accusing Nicolas Maduro's regime in Venezuela of promoting narco-trade that percolates into the U.S., causing an opioid crisis.
Since September, Trump's administration has launched dozens of strikes on vessels linked to Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean which the U.S. claimed had drug cargoes.
However, Maduro has refuted all the U.S. allegations and counter-claimed that Trump is conspiring to seize the rich oil reserves of Venezuela (303 billion barrels per 2023 estimate). Maduro called for U.N. intervention to defend their nation.
For the past few days, the U.S. military has ramped up its military presence around Venezuela.
Trump ordered a 'total naval blockade' of all sanctioned vessels entering or leaving Venezuela, and eventually, the U.S. military seized two oil tankers.
On Monday, Trump went on to state that the U.S. would either keep the seized oil to its strategic reserves or may sell it on the open market. Trump also affirmed that the U.S. would sell the captured vessels. Trump even hinted that the U.S. would probably force Maduro out of power.
On Tuesday, the U.N. Security Council urged the U.S. to refrain from aggressive moves.
China and Russia condemned these offensives by the U.S.
Being the major buyer of Venezuelan oil, China stands to lose a lot. Experts have warned that any direct intervention by China in support of Venezuela could further inflame the crisis.
In Europe, as Russia has stepped up its aerial attacks on Ukraine since Christmas Eve, Ukrainian drones targeted oil reserves at Temryuk port and a gas processing plant in Russia's Orenburg region.
Of note, without naming Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wished death for 'Putin' in his Christmas Eve address to the nation.
Meanwhile, diplomatic measures by the U.S. to end the war are slowly gathering steam.
After remarking positively about the calls with U.S. envoys, Zelenskyy stated that the new 20-point peace proposal is about 90% ready. Zelenskyy is set to meet Trump at Mar-A-Lago this Sunday to take things further.
Russia has accused European nations of blocking the peace talks but commented that the negotiations are making 'slow but steady' progress.
Analysts are waiting to see how both nations agree on 'territorial concessions.'
In a fresh development in West Africa, in a joint operation, the U.S. carried out strikes against ISIS targets in Nigeria's Sokoto province. Nigeria has hinted at more such joint strikes on the ISIS militants.
Expectations of interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve have grown larger after Trump's recent remarks where he stated that he wants the next Fed Chair to keep interest rates low. Trump has been calling for reducing rates to as low as 1%.
Trump also underscored that he would want the incumbent to never disagree with him.
After cutting benchmark rates thrice this year, the Fed has brought rates down to the 3.50% to 3.75% range.
Currently, traders have raised their bets on a 25-basis-point rate cut by the Fed to 17.7% (up from 13% days before) in its January 27-28 meeting, according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool.
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