Gold rallies past $4,800 as Greenland tensions spur safe‑haven rush

Spot gold surged to fresh record highs on Jan. 21, 2026, topping intraday prints above $4,840 an ounce as investors sought refuge from heightened geopolitical and trade uncertainty tied to U.S. moves on Greenland. The strongest consolidated spot print reached $4,844.39 at 21:13 ET (02:13 GMT), with multiple session highs clustered between $4,818 and $4,844 across trading venues. U.S. futures for February delivery traded in the $4,813.50 to $4,830.04 range, up roughly 1.0% to 1.3% on the session.

The rally accelerated amid a softer U.S. dollar that made bullion more attractive for overseas buyers and a broader reallocation out of risk assets. Bullion has climbed more than 5% over the week to Jan. 21, 2026, underscoring the momentum that has carried gold through a record 2025 and into a further advance this month. Other precious metals also advanced; silver printed as high as $95.87 earlier in the day and was quoted at $95.01 in one report, platinum reached $2,511.80 before easing to $2,485.50, and palladium traded around $1,873.18.

Market participants pointed to a spike in safe-haven demand after a diplomatic rupture between the United States and European allies over U.S. pressure to acquire Greenland. U.S. statements, including an insistence that there was “no going back” on the objective and warnings that force could not be ruled out, have been cited as aggravating transatlantic tensions and raising questions about NATO cohesion. Simultaneously, renewed tariff rhetoric and threats against European partners amplified trade-war fears, prompting portfolio managers to increase allocations to precious metals and other defensive assets.

Flows into exchange-traded funds, retail purchases and institutional diversification contributed to the technical strength, marking a shift some analysts view as moving from central-bank buying in recent years toward heavier private-sector demand. Money also moved into the metal as cryptocurrencies and other risk assets weakened, and as volatility rose in long-dated Japanese government bonds after election-era fiscal pledges pushed 30- and 40-year yields up by more than 25 basis points.

Major houses maintained bullish outlooks. Daan Struyven, co-head of global commodities research at Goldman Sachs, reiterated that gold is the bank’s “highest‑conviction” trade and reiterated a year‑end target of $4,900. Analysts surveyed by the London Bullion Market Association see the possibility of prices rising above $5,000 as momentum and safe-haven flows persist.

The move has tangible real-economy effects. In India, retail gold reached about ₹1.53 lakh per 10 grams and silver jumped roughly 7% to around ₹3.23 lakh per kilogram, tightening local markets and test­ing consumer affordability. Domestically, U.S. political uncertainty also looms: coverage referenced a legal fight over the president’s effort to remove a Federal Reserve governor that was due before the U.S. Supreme Court this week, adding to the backdrop of policy risk.

For now, the market is testing how far a momentum-driven safe-haven bid can extend. With analysts split between sustained upside above $5,000 and concerns about a potential pullback, traders say price action in the coming days will hinge on any escalation of geopolitical rhetoric, tariff threats and the trajectory of the dollar.