NEW YORK, Feb 17, 2026, 16:01 EST — After-hours
- Gold slipped back under the $5,000 mark as the dollar firmed and traders dialed back the “safe-haven” bid.
- The next test is the Fed’s January minutes on Wednesday and U.S. inflation data on Friday.
- Gold-linked shares lagged as miners sank with bullion.
Gold fell more than 2% on Tuesday, sliding back below $5,000 an ounce as signs of progress in U.S.-Iran nuclear talks cooled demand for safe-haven assets and the dollar firmed. Spot gold was down 2.2% at $4,884.46 an ounce by 1:30 p.m. ET, while U.S. April futures settled 2.8% lower at $4,905.90 after the dollar index rose 0.3%. Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals, said the market had lacked “fresh bullish fundamental news,” adding that easing tensions around Iran and the Ukraine-Russia talks in Geneva would likely sap demand for bullion. (Reuters)
The timing matters. Gold has been trading like insurance — bought when investors worry, sold when the worry fades — and that premium can unwind fast when diplomacy looks less hostile. Traders are now bracing for the Federal Reserve’s January meeting minutes due at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, then the U.S. “personal income and outlays” report on Friday at 8:30 a.m., which includes the PCE inflation gauge closely watched by the Fed. (Federal Reserve)
Rate expectations are the other lever. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said “several more” rate cuts could be possible this year if inflation resumes a clear glide toward 2%, but he stressed the Fed needs to see it in the data. Investors, for now, are largely positioned for the first move in June, according to the Reuters report. (Reuters)
The slide followed a jittery, holiday-thinned market that had kept gold pinned near $5,000 for days. “Gold is range-trading around $5,000/oz … with lower liquidity due to holidays,” UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said on Monday, when U.S. and key Asian markets were shut. Zain Vawda, an analyst at MarketPulse by OANDA, said he would pull back his medium-term target to the $5,100-$5,200 area “for now,” calling the situation fluid. (Reuters)
Gold’s drop also hit the equities tied to it. Canada’s TSX gold index fell 4.3% in early trade on Tuesday, with the broader materials sector sliding the same amount as metal prices weakened. (Reuters)
The $5,000 level has turned into a line traders talk about even when they pretend they don’t. When prices slip through round numbers in a thin market, stops tend to go off in clusters and the moves get messy.
But the unwind cuts both ways. A setback in U.S.-Iran talks, or a nasty turn in the Ukraine track, could shove safe-haven demand back into gold quickly. On the flip side, a hawkish read of the Fed minutes or an upside surprise in inflation could keep the dollar supported and extend the pullback.
For the rest of the week, traders will be looking for the Fed’s tone in Wednesday’s minutes and any hint from Friday’s PCE-linked data that the path back to 2% inflation is speeding up — or stalling again. Headlines from Geneva and Tehran will run alongside the charts.
