NEW YORK, Feb 24, 2026, 12:40 EST — Trading during the regular session.
- Spot gold slipped 1.6% to $5,148.28 an ounce, while April futures dropped 1.1% to $5,167.10.
- The dollar ticked higher, sparking some profit-taking once bullion touched a three-week peak earlier.
- Traders are watching for signals on when U.S. tariffs might hit, while Thursday brings U.S.-Iran nuclear talks in Geneva.
Spot gold lost 1.6%, dropping to $5,148.28 an ounce by 11:17 a.m. ET, pulling back from a three-week peak as a stronger dollar prompted traders to take profits. April U.S. gold futures shed 1.1% to $5,167.10. “Just a corrective pullback,” said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco Metals. (Reuters)
Gold’s pullback comes with prices still up near all-time highs after a rapid surge. Spot gold jumped over 2% on Monday, marking its loftiest level since Jan. 30; its last record was $5,594.82, set Jan. 29. “Gold prices could rise sharply this week once activity picks up,” said Jeffrey Christian, managing partner at CPM Group, citing a pileup of political and economic uncertainty. (Reuters)
Washington’s evolving tariff tactics have been rattling investors, occasionally sending cash toward gold. The U.S. kicked off a provisional 10% global import tariff on Tuesday. A White House official told Reuters that the Trump administration is looking to bump that up to 15%, but stopped short of specifying when. (Reuters)
Legal questions are swirling, too. Trump’s tariffs come in the wake of a Supreme Court decision tossing out previous levies enacted under an emergency statute, opening the door for more legal fights, economists say. As Gita Gopinath, former IMF First Deputy Managing Director, told Reuters, there’s no U.S. balance-of-payments crisis—the sort of scenario that the administration’s chosen law is supposed to cover. (Reuters)
Geopolitics is the other pillar under the market. The next round of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran is set for Thursday in Geneva, according to facilitator Oman. With Washington stepping up its regional military presence and both sides cautioning about potential fallout if negotiations collapse, tensions remain. (euronews)
Even when markets have pulled back, that risk premium hasn’t budged. Iran is nearing an agreement with China to purchase CM-302 anti-ship cruise missiles, people familiar with the discussions told Reuters—a point that highlights just how fast the standoff could escalate. (Reuters)
Rates keep grinding away in the backdrop, often proving more consequential than whatever grabs the headlines once the noise dies down. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic flagged a potential risk: companies using AI could push U.S. unemployment higher on a structural level, something the Fed might not be able to fix just by cutting rates. “We could potentially be in a transformational period,” Bostic said, a phase where employers simply don’t require as many people. (Reuters)
Fresh U.S. numbers on Tuesday gave traders more to chew on when it comes to the balance between economic momentum and policy risk. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index climbed to 91.2 in February—better than expected. Dana Peterson, chief economist at the board, noted that “confidence ticked up” as worries about the months ahead softened a bit. (Reuters)
Gold keeps feeling the dollar’s weight, even as the currency’s status grows more tangled. Bullion is still priced in dollars, after all. In a Monday note, ING pointed out that the dollar has shed part—though not all—of its safe-haven shine since 2024. Turbulent U.S. trade policy has dragged on the currency as well. (Reuters)
But there’s a flip side for gold bulls. Should tariff talk ease up, or negotiations cool the Iran tensions, that safe-haven bid can vanish fast. Plus, if the dollar keeps climbing, gold just gets more expensive for anyone not paying in greenbacks — a straightforward drag, especially with positioning already crowded.
Thursday brings the Geneva meeting, and traders are waiting to hear if the White House will confirm when—or even if—the tariff jumps from 10% to 15%. There’s also Fed official chatter on the radar. Without another surprise, those two factors could tip gold toward retesting January’s high, or send it drifting lower.
