Gold’s rally to an all-time high cooled after US President Donald Trump said he’d refrain from imposing tariffs on goods from European nations that oppose his effort to take possession of Greenland, adding he reached a “framework of a future deal” regarding the island. Silver fell.
Spot gold rose 0.6% at $4,790.13 an ounce as of 3:23 pm in New York, while silver slipped 3.3% after reaching an all-time high on Tuesday. Platinum surpassed $2,530 an ounce for the first time before giving up all the gains to trade 0.9% lower. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.
The decision, which Trump announced Wednesday on social media, marks a stark reversal for a president who has repeatedly attempted to coerce Europe over the semi-autonomous Danish territory. It came after a meeting with North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Mark Rutte at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Copper gained toward $13,000 a ton, as Goldman Sachs forecast continued flows into the US — a key driver behind the industrial metal’s powerful price rally. It settled 0.4% higher at $12,810 a ton on the London Metal Exchange.
The dollar advanced while bullion erased gains that earlier sent the metal to a fresh peak of $4,888.42 an ounce.
The US president also said there would be additional discussions on the Golden Dome missile defense system that he has said US control of Greenland is critical to supporting. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and “various others” will be responsible for negotiations, Trump said.
Prior to his remarks on social media, Trump said during his Davos speech that the US won’t use force to get Greenland and that the US was seeking immediate talks on acquiring the Arctic island.
The Greenland crisis and the US threat against its NATO allies have roiled markets, adding impetus to a roughly 75% surge in gold prices over the past 12 months. The rally has also been supported by central bank buying, haven protection against trade and geopolitical turmoil, as well as a US monetary loosening that makes non-yielding assets more attractive.
“Gold may be pausing, but the bull market is very much intact — with rate‑cut expectations, persistent geopolitical tensions and strong central‑bank buying keeping the risk skewed firmly to the upside,” said Ewa Manthey, commodities strategist at ING Groep NV. “With uncertainty still elevated, investors are likely to view any dip as a buying opportunity rather than a turning point.”
Separately, US Supreme Court justices suggested they are wary of Trump’s effort to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over unproven mortgage-fraud allegations, saying the move could upend the Fed’s independence and rattle markets. That helped alleviate some investor concern surrounding the US central bank’s interest-rate decision-making, which is the cornerstone of the financial markets.