Gold retraces to the $5,000 mark following the US tariff ruling.

The global gold market has just concluded a volatile but positive trading week, with the price of the precious metal re-establishing the important $5,000/ounce mark.

The upward price momentum stems from a complex interplay of factors, including weakening US economic growth data, legal developments surrounding President Donald Trump's tariff policies, and increased geopolitical risks in the Middle East.

Gold bars in Aichi, Japan. Photo: Kyodo/VNA

At the close of trading on February 20th in New York, the spot gold price rose 1.5% to $5,071.48 per ounce. Gold futures contracts for April 2026 also recorded a 1.7% increase, closing at $5,080.90 per ounce.

Overall for the week, gold prices recorded their third consecutive weekly gain, rising by nearly 0.75%. Since the beginning of 2026, the precious metal has increased by approximately 17%.

Besides gold, other precious metals also had a strong trading session. Spot silver prices surged 5.8% to $82.92 per ounce. Platinum prices rose 4.5% to $2,163.53 per ounce.

The market's focus at the end of the week was the US Supreme Court's ruling that President Trump's widespread emergency tariffs were illegal and exceeded its authority. However, the US President quickly retaliated by announcing he would impose new global tariffs of 10% within 150 days based on other legal grounds.

Besides political factors in the US, gloomy economic data is also driving up gold prices. The latest report shows that US GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2025 slowed significantly, reaching only 1.4%, much lower than the 3% forecast by economists. Although the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) index for December 2025 increased higher than expected at 0.4%, the weakening of overall economic growth has reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will have to cut interest rates.

Furthermore, the Supreme Court ruling could force the US Treasury Department to return collected taxes, putting pressure on the budget and forcing the government to use monetary tools to finance the process. This means interest rates could be kept low, creating a favorable environment for gold prices to rise in the near future.

Gold prices are always sensitive to US interest rate adjustments. Lower interest rates weaken the US dollar but significantly increase the attractiveness of non-yielding assets like gold. Currently, traders still expect the Fed to implement two interest rate cuts of 0.25 percentage points each this year, with the first expected in June.

Analysts and major investment banks remain optimistic about the medium- and long-term outlook for gold prices. Experts at Goldman Sachs maintain their view that gold prices will continue their upward trend, aiming for $5,400 per ounce by the end of 2026. They believe that central bank buying demand will accelerate again, combined with capital inflows from the private sector as the Fed begins its monetary easing cycle.

Meanwhile, analysts at UBS bank forecast that gold prices could reach $6,200 per ounce in the coming months. According to UBS, the main drivers behind gold's strong upward trend remain intact, particularly demand for geopolitical risk hedging and concerns about currency devaluation.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thi-truong-tien-te/vang-tai-lap-moc-5000-usd-sau-phan-quyet-thue-quan-tu-my-20260221105051757.htm