Escalating geopolitical risk continued to dominate global markets' concerns, with safe-haven demand keeping the dollar index anchored near a multi-week high.
The metal has come under pressure as rising geopolitical tensions have pushed energy prices higher, reinforcing concerns about inflation and tightening financial conditions. This has resulted in a rise in US Treasury yields to multi-week highs, weighing on non-yielding assets such as gold.
The U.S. dollar's value has fallen 8% over the past year, as the price of gold has skyrocketed, said the WSJ Dollar Index. Some think it is a good thing. President Donald Trump said recently a weaker dollar is great. The idea is a weaker currency boosts exports and employment while a strong currency can throttle an economy. While the idea of a weaker dollar has had supporters over the decades, economists often argue gains can be eaten up by domestic inflation and deflation.
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The tensions between the United States and Iran have pushed oil prices higher, raising fears of energy-driven inflation, which helped support both the dollar and Treasury yields. The 10-year yield has climbed to its highest level in roughly two weeks.
The Federal Reserve held rates steady at 3.5% to 3.75% on January 28, 2026, and Bitcoin ( ) now faces a critical support test. The Bitcoin price is consolidating near key support levels, with volatility compressing in a way that often precedes sharp moves in either direction. Powell struck a neutral tone, describing the economy as on "firm footing" while noting inflation "remains somewhat elevated."
The resilience of gold above $4,800 per ounce at this stage reflects a delicate and complex balance between traditional supporting factors and emerging pressures-one that cannot be superficially interpreted or reduced to the movement of the dollar alone. It is true that the U.S. dollar's retreat from its recent peaks, after failing to sustain its recovery momentum from a four-year low, provided gold with a short-term breather and attracted some buyers.
USDJPY is no longer a one-sided story of USD strength. It has become a tug-of-war between two safe-haven currencies amid escalating geopolitical tensions and shifting monetary policies. This dynamic has widened volatility ranges and made the overall trend less stable.
Sterling has surged to $1.38 against the US dollar, its strongest level since October 2021, as a combination of US economic disruption, shifting interest rate expectations and geopolitical uncertainty weakens the greenback. Currency analysts said the move has been driven more by dollar softness than by a sudden strengthening of the pound, creating what some describe as a rare buying opportunity for consumers and businesses needing US currency.
The USD/JPY pair surged to a nine-day peak of 158.86 following the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) first policy decision of 2026, with the momentum accelerating sharply during Governor Kazuo Ueda's post-meeting press conference. The pair later saw a missive flush toward 157.308. While the central bank technically stood pat, the market's read of the event was one of a hawkish hold, as the divergence between official rhetoric and the surging Japanese Government Bond (JGB) yields forced a frantic repricing of the yen's path.
