New York precious metals futures prices experienced wide fluctuations during trading on the 26th. At the close, the most active April 2026 gold contract on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained $21.70 to settle at $5,004.80 per ounce, an increase of 0.44%.
Safe-haven demand was again prominent, driving substantial gains for gold and silver prices during the early trading session. After forcefully breaking through the $5,000 mark during Asian trading hours on the 26th, the February gold futures contract even reached a historic high of $5,107.90 per ounce. Silver prices also hit a record high on the 26th, with the March silver futures contract briefly surpassing $117 per ounce.
Analysts indicated that former U.S. President Trump's reshaping of international relations and investor "sell America" trades have fueled the safe-haven demand for precious metals.
Concurrently, a significant decline in the U.S. dollar index also bolstered bullish sentiment for gold and silver. Due to market expectations that the U.S. might intervene in the foreign exchange market jointly with Japan, the dollar index fell overnight to a four-month low, as investors believe any coordinated intervention aimed at supporting Japan could further deteriorate market confidence in the dollar.
Economic data released during the day had a muted impact on gold prices. Data from the U.S. Commerce Department showed that durable goods orders increased by 5.3% in November, following a 2.1% decline in October. The general consensus among economists was for a gain of 3.1%.
The market's focus this week is on the upcoming first Federal Reserve policy meeting of 2026. Despite pressure from Trump for the Fed to cut interest rates, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is widely expected to keep rates unchanged this week. The market also anticipates that meetings of 17 other central banks this week will largely result in unchanged interest rates.
The March silver futures contract price rose by 63 cents on the day to settle at $103.89 per ounce, an increase of 0.61%. During the session, silver prices had surged by over 13% at one point but relinquished most of those gains by the end of the U.S. trading session.
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