Spot Gold surged 2% on Monday, reclaiming ground above the $4,400 mark, as US-led capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro triggered a rush into safe-haven assets.
US President Donald Trump said over the weekend that the US would temporarily “run” the government in Venezuela, hours after he ordered a large-scale military operation, which according to media reports, resulted in Maduro’s capture.
“The ramifications over America’s gunboat diplomacy are likely to be more influential within Latin America,” Capital Economics’ chief economist Neil Shearing commented.
“One key flashpoint to watch is whether the same concerns over the drugs trade and organized crime that were used to justify action against Maduro are used to extract concessions from Mexico.”
Gold had a notable rally last year due to a combination of factors such as strong central bank buying, US tariff policies, potential rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, robust ETF inflows and geopolitical uncertainty. The yellow metal registered its best annual performance since 1979.
Investor focus now sets on the US data string, including ISM Manufacturing PMI, ADP employment figures, job openings as well as Friday’s Non-Farm Payrolls report for December, which may provide more clues on the health of the economy and the Fed’s monetary policy trajectory.
FOMC policy makers signaled just one 25 bps rate cut for 2026, while investors continue to expect two or three rate cuts of 25 basis points each.
Spot Gold was last up 2.06% on the day to trade at $4,421.49 per troy ounce.
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