WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold rose sharply towards $4,400 an ounce on Friday, extending upward momentum after recording its biggest jump since the 1979 oil crisis in 2025.
Bullion ended last year with annual gains of 64 percent, its largest since 1979 on the back of escalating geopolitical tensions, strong buying by central banks and rising holdings in exchange traded funds.
Spot gold jumped 1.8 percent to $4,386.47 an ounce in European trading today, while U.S. gold futures were up 1.3 percent at $4,398.
A weaker dollar buoyed safe-haven demand for the previous metal as investors bet on further monetary policy easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Markets currently price in at least two Federal Reserve rate cuts this year, despite recent data showing resilience in the U.S. labor market.
Investors await the release of key economic data including the U.S. payrolls report and jobless data next week for additional clues on the outlook for interest rates.
On the geopolitical front, tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates burst into the open this week after flights were halted at Aden airport on Thursday.
Elsewhere, Russia claimed that Ukraine has killed at least 24 people, including a child, in a drone attack on a hotel and cafe in a Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's southern Kherson region, where New Year celebrations were taking place. Ukraine maintained it does not target civilians.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
