A rapid safe-haven rally pushed gold toward record highs after the U.S. captured and extradited Venezuela’s president, but profit-taking and dollar strength prompted a quick pullback. Major banks raised year-ahead targets and physical premiums in India and China rebounded, while futures volumes eased—creating a backdrop of near-term volatility with bullish medium-term fundamentals.

A week of sharp, concrete moves shook the gold complex: the CME raised margin requirements on Dec 29, triggering a multi-percent selloff in futures, followed by a partial rebound. Strong fundamentals — central bank buying, Fed easing expectations and shifting Indian demand toward bars and coins — underpin gold’s record annual gains despite the volatility.

Safe-haven demand and Fed easing pushed spot gold above $4,500/oz this week. Strong futures volume, central-bank buying and rising local prices in India reinforced the rally.

Gold pushed toward record highs this week as futures activity and speculative interest climbed, even while physical demand in India softened after domestic prices hit new peaks. Elevated COMEX volumes and rising open interest, bullish analyst forecasts, and a silver-led metals rally underpinned price momentum. Offsetting forces include stretched local premiums in Asia and heavy gains in mining stocks that amplify risk. This article distills the week’s concrete developments and what they mean for commodity investors.

This week’s gold drivers: Barrick’s North American IPO plan and Mali settlement reshuffle supply and investor flows, while the Fed’s rate outlook and Turkey’s narrowing physical-price spread shape near-term bullion demand and price action.

Gold climbed this week as markets priced in an imminent Fed rate cut and central banks stepped up purchases. Strong ETF inflows and shifting Chinese demand amplified the rally, while broker forecasts and miner shares followed suit.