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Introduction: Weak dollar drives gold over $5,500 an ounce
Good morning and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.
The surge in the gold price is showing no sign of abating, as bullion continues to soar.
Gold has jumped over the $5,500 an ounce level this morning, just three days after hitting $5,000 for the first time, taking its gains so far this year to almost 30% (!).
It powered higher as investors continue to rush into safe haven assets, looking for protection against geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
Precious metals are also benefiting from the weaker dollar, which has lurched lower after president Trump indicated this week he was comfortable with the currency’s year‑to‑date softness. That only encouraged fears of monetary debasement, boosting gold’s attractiveness.
As Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at IG, explains:
“That sound you hear is that of 2026 gold targets being furiously revised higher, as the price keeps climbing, and given renewed impetus by Trump’s comments on the dollar. This will have fans of the debasement trade cheering in their seats, as it reinforces their thesis.
Each time precious seem at risk of running out of bullish momentum, something comes along to rescue it. So long as international investors keep dumping the dollar, the future for gold looks bright indeed.”
Concerns around the independence of America’s central bank are also lifting gold.
Although the US Federal Reserve resisted pressure from Trump and held interest rates last night, it may cut rates once a new chair has been installed to replace Jerome Powell later this year. That could weaken the dollar further, and lift inflation – two conditions which are good for the gold price.
The agenda
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10am GMT: Eurozone consumer/business confidence report
-
1.30pm GMT: US trade report for November
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1.30pm GMT: US initial jobless claims report
-
3pm GMT: US factory orders data for November
Key events
The surge in the gold, silver and copper prices today is lifting the London stock market too.
Mining stocks are among the top risers on the FTSE 100 share index, with precious metals producer Endeavour Mining up 5.3%.
Copper producer Antofagasta are up 6.2%, with Anglo American 3.8% higher and Glencore up 3.1%.
This has helped to lift the FTSE 100 by 53 points, or 0.53%, to 10,208 points, towards its mid-January record high.
Victoria Scholar, head of investment at interactive investor, says,
“European markets have opened mostly higher with the FTSE 100 up over 0.5%. 3i Group shares have soared to the top of the index, up 13%, set for its biggest daily gain in 6 years thanks to a strong Q3 performance update.
Miners are towards the top of the FTSE 100 today thanks to record highs for copper, gold and silver. Fresnillo, Endeavour Mining, Antofagasta, Anglo American and Glencore are all enjoying gains.
US futures are pointing to a higher open as investors assess a mixed bag of tech earnings – Microsoft fell after-hours while Meta and Tesla staged gains. It comes after the S&P 500 temporarily hit the 7,000 milestone for the first time in yesterday’s session before closing off the highs. Focus turns to Apple’s results after the bell tonight.
Oil prices are trading back up at September highs, after a strong uptrend this week, with Brent and WTI both gaining around 1.5% today, pricing in the US-Iran uncertainty and fears of military escalation.”
Copper hits record high
The weak dollar has helped to drive the copper price to a record high today too.
The benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange jumped almost 8% to a new all-time peak of $14,125 a tonne, before slipping back slightly.
A wave of intense speculative trading in China is also lifting copper, Bloomberg reports, adding:
Investors are piling into base metals on the Shanghai Futures Exchange on expectations for stronger US growth and more spending on data centers, robotics and power infrastructure. That’s spurring global prices higher.
Sweden leaves interest rates on hold as uncertainty rises
Over in Sweden, central bank policymakers have decided to keep its key interest rate on hold.
The Riksbank has announced it will maintain rates at 1.75%.
It says:
Inflation is close to the target of 2 percent.
The Swedish economy is growing at a solid pace. The labour market is weak but showing signs of improvement.
The Riksbank adds that the rate is expected to remain at this level for some time to come. But it also cautions that the uncertainty regarding the outlook for inflation and economic activity has increased.
Another blow to Ocado as Canadian partner shuts distribution centre
Shares in Ocado have dropped almost 10% this morning after its robotic warehouse rollout suffered another blow.
Sobeys, the canadian grocery chain, has decided to close its customer fulfilment centre in Calgary, Ocado told shareholders this morning.
It says the decision is largely due to the Alberta grocery e-commerce market’s size and the rate of expansion being slower than originally anticipated.
Ocado expects to receive compensation of £18m for the closure of the CFC in Alberta, which will cut its fee revenue by £7m this financial year.
Sobeys is sticking with Ocado at two other warehouses, in Toronto and Montreal, where the UK company is deploying new technology to enable a higher proportion of same day and short-lead time orders to be served from CFCs.
The Alberta closure comes just a few months after Ocado’s US partner, Kroger, announced the closure of three warehouses using the UK company’s high-tech equipment.
Spanish bank Santander has today announced plans to close 44 UK banch branches, putting almost 300 jobs at risk.
Santander UK blames “changing customer behaviour”, as 96% of all transactions now being completed in digital channels. It plans to replace these branches with Community Bankers, operating either from a Santander Local or a Banking Hub.
Most of the branches will close later this year, although some are earmarked to keep running until early next year:
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Andover 12-May-26
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Banbridge 19-May-26
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Bangor 29-Apr-26
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Berwick Upon Tweed 28-Apr-26
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Bishop Auckland 05-May-26
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Boston 28-Apr-26
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Bridgend 12-May-26
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Bridgwater 29-Apr-26
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Cwmbran 13-May-26
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Enniskillen 12-May-26
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Evesham 28-Apr-26
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Glengormley 06-May-26
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Golders Green 13-May-26
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Gosport 05-May-26
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Haverfordwest 05-May-26
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Heswall 13-May-26
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Huntingdon 05-May-26
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Kirkintilloch 29-Apr-26
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Leighton Buzzard By the end of January 2027
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Leyland 06-May-26
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Liskeard 20-May-26
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Macclesfield 12-May-26
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Mansfield 06-May-26
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Melton Mowbray 29-Apr-26
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Merthyr Tydfil 06-May-26
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Mold 28-Apr-26
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Newbury 29-Apr-26
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Newton Abbot 19-May-26
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Northallerton 06-May-26
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Ormskirk By the end of January 2027
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Pontefract 05-May-26
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Ramsgate 28-Apr-26
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Redditch 13-May-26
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Ringwood 06-May-26
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Scunthorpe 29-Apr-26
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Shirley 20-May-26
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Stafford 19-May-26
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Stranraer 13-May-26
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Stratford Upon Avon 12-May-26
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Tonbridge 29-Apr-26
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Welwyn Garden City 05-May-26
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Whitehaven By the end of January 2027
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Wilmslow By the end of January 2027
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Woking 28-Apr-26
A spokesperson for Santander UK said:
“In response to a continuing and sizeable shift towards customers using digital banking, we are making changes to our branches to better support our customers.
We will continue to invest in both our branch network – comprising of full-service branches, counter-free branches, reduced-hour branches, Santander Locals, and our increasingly popular Work Cafés – as well as our digital banking services, so we can be there to support our customers however they choose to bank with us.”
Weaker dollar ‘here to stay’
The US dollar is wallowing near its lowest level in four years today.
On Tuesday it tumbled to its weakest point since February 2022, after Donald Trump declared that the dollar is “doing great”, when asked about its weakness.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, argues that the weaker dollar is here to stay, telling clients:
The dollar has been under pressure for most of this year and is the weakest currency in the G10 FX space. The recent bout of FX market volatility in recent days that started with the yen, is a further sign that we are entering an unusual period of uncertainty for the FX market. This could lead to structural changes, and it could affect investor behavior.
Oil hits four-month high amid Iran tensions
The oil price is rising again today on increasing concerns the US may carry out a military attack on Iran, a key Middle Eastern producer.
Brent crude is up 1.3% at $69.33 a barrel, its highest since late September, after president Trump warned Tehran yesterday that time was running out.
Trump declared that a huge US armada was moving quickly towards the country “with great power, enthusiasm and purpose”, as he urged Iran to quickly ‘Come to the Table’.
January’s sizzling gains follow a strong 2025 for gold.
Gold gained 65% last year, as investors sought out protection from inflation and geopolitical tensions (a trend that has accelerated since!).
And this morning, the World Gold Council has reported that gold demand hit an all-time high last year.
The WGC says global gold demand rose by 1% in 2025 to 5,002 metric tons, which it attributes to jitters over instability and trade.
John Reade, senior market strategist at the World Gold Council, adds:
“The biggest question this year will be whether investment demand is going to be strong enough to maintain the strength of the gold market.”
The WGC also reported that central banks’ purchases of gold fell by 20% last year.
Reade says:
“The highlight is definitely investment demand. The lowlight — the one people may be surprised about — is that central bank demand dropped.”
Silver hits $120/oz
Silver has climbed even faster than gold this year.
Silver is up a blistering 65% since the start of January, and hit $120 an ounce for the first time this morning.
Some speculators are turning to silver as they try to cash in on the precious metals boom.
The Straits Times reports that some Hong Kong residents trying to buy a bar of silver were disappointed:
After a precious metals shop in Hong Kong’s central business district announced that hundreds of silver bars had sold out for the day on Jan 28, murmurs of disappointment rippled through a waiting queue.
Despite increasing its supply to cater to strong demand, the store saw hundreds of bars snapped up in just over an hour.
The rise in precious metals prices is “breathtaking and profoundly scary”, warns Robin Brooks, senior fellow at Brookings Institute.
He writes:
The rise in gold is part of something much bigger… all precious metals prices are going through the roof and gold is a laggard compared to silver and platinum.
At the same time, we’re seeing government bond markets in high-debt countries like Japan under severe pressure, even as there’s a flight to safety into countries with low debt like Sweden, Norway and Switzerland. Gold is therefore a symptom of something much bigger. We’re at the start of a global debt crisis, with markets increasingly fearful governments will attempt to inflate away out-of-control debt. Gold is just one of many assets that are getting a “safe haven” bid as part of this phenomenon.
More here.
Dollar weakness is supercharging the rise in gold. It was only on Sunday night that we went above $5,000 and today we’re already above $5,200. Dollar weakness is adding fuel to the fire for the crazy rise in precious metals…https://t.co/u358ES9y2d pic.twitter.com/jzQ3c7vqCk
— Robin Brooks (@robin_j_brooks) January 28, 2026
Introduction: Weak dollar drives gold over $5,500 an ounce
Good morning and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.
The surge in the gold price is showing no sign of abating, as bullion continues to soar.
Gold has jumped over the $5,500 an ounce level this morning, just three days after hitting $5,000 for the first time, taking its gains so far this year to almost 30% (!).
It powered higher as investors continue to rush into safe haven assets, looking for protection against geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
Precious metals are also benefiting from the weaker dollar, which has lurched lower after president Trump indicated this week he was comfortable with the currency’s year‑to‑date softness. That only encouraged fears of monetary debasement, boosting gold’s attractiveness.
As Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at IG, explains:
“That sound you hear is that of 2026 gold targets being furiously revised higher, as the price keeps climbing, and given renewed impetus by Trump’s comments on the dollar. This will have fans of the debasement trade cheering in their seats, as it reinforces their thesis.
Each time precious seem at risk of running out of bullish momentum, something comes along to rescue it. So long as international investors keep dumping the dollar, the future for gold looks bright indeed.”
Concerns around the independence of America’s central bank are also lifting gold.
Although the US Federal Reserve resisted pressure from Trump and held interest rates last night, it may cut rates once a new chair has been installed to replace Jerome Powell later this year. That could weaken the dollar further, and lift inflation – two conditions which are good for the gold price.
The agenda
-
10am GMT: Eurozone consumer/business confidence report
-
1.30pm GMT: US trade report for November
-
1.30pm GMT: US initial jobless claims report
-
3pm GMT: US factory orders data for November
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