• Gold buying remains unabated for the sixth straight day amid sustained safe-haven demand.
• The ‘Sell America’ trade weighs heavily on the USD and further benefits the XAU/USD pair.
• Dovish Fed expectations contribute to the move higher ahead of the FOMC policy meeting.

Gold (XAU/USD) continues scaling record highs for the sixth straight day on Monday and sticks to its intraday gains through the first half of the European session, with bulls now awaiting acceptance above the $5,100 mark before placing fresh bets. Persistent geopolitical and trade-related uncertainties continue to drive safe-haven flows towards the precious metal. Adding to this, prospects for further policy easing by the US Federal Reserve (Fed), sustained buying by central banks, and record inflows into exchange-traded funds contribute to the commodity's relentless rally.

Meanwhile, heightened economic and policy risk linked to US President Donald Trump's tariff threats reignited the so-called 'Sell America' trade and dragged the US Dollar (USD) to its lowest level since September 2025. This, in turn, provides an additional boost to the Gold and validates the near-term constructive outlook. Traders now look to the outcome of a two-day FOMC meeting on Wednesday for cues about the Fed's rate-cut path, which would play a  key role in influencing the USD price dynamics and provide a fresh impetus to the non-yielding yellow metal.

Daily Digest Market Movers: Gold looks to extend record-setting rally amid safe-haven flows, bearish USD

• The recent short-lived escalation of friction between the United States and NATO over Greenland raised some doubts about trust in the alliance. Moreover, Ukraine and Russia ended a second day of US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi on Saturday without a deal.
• Adding to this, US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he would impose a 100% tariff on Canada if it follows through on a trade deal with China. This continues to lift the safe-haven Gold to new all-time highs for the sixth consecutive day on Monday.
• This comes on top of the broader de-dollarization trend and bets that the US Federal Reserve would cut interest rates two more times in 2026, which drags the US Dollar to a four-month low and turns out to be another factor that benefits the precious metal.
• China's central bank extended its gold-buying spree for a fourteenth month in December. Moreover, emerging market central banks – the National Bank of Poland, Reserve Bank of India, and Central Bank of Brazil – were active buyers through early 2026.
• Furthermore, global demand for investments in gold through exchange-traded funds increased by 25% in 2025. In fact, gold holdings increased to 4,025.4 tonnes from 3224.2 tonnes in 2024, and the total Assets Under Management in ETFs stood at $558.9 billion.
• The 'Sell America' sentiment gained momentum in recent weeks due to the Greenland tariff dispute, the US government’s attack on the Federal Reserve's independence, and enduring concerns over government debt levels. This further underpins the commodity.
• The market focus now shifts to the highly anticipated two-day FOMC meeting, starting on Tuesday. The Fed is scheduled to announce its decision on Wednesday, though the focus will be on the accompanying statement and the post-meeting press conference.
• Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments will be scrutinized for cues about the future policy path, which would drive the USD and the non-yielding yellow metal. In the meantime, US Durable Goods Orders could produce short-term opportunities on Monday.

Gold awaits fresh breakout through short-term ascending channel resistance near $5,100

The ascending channel from $4,464.07 underpins the uptrend, with resistance near $5,099.04. The XAU/USD pair hovers close to the upper boundary, where rallies tend to stall. A clear breakout could extend the climb, while a rejection at this barrier would keep the advance capped within the channel.

The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) line holds above the Signal line and above zero, and the positive histogram is expanding, suggesting strengthening bullish momentum. The RSI stands at 80.76, indicating stretched conditions that could precede a pause. Should momentum cool, support aligns with the channel floor near $4,932.75. Holding that base would preserve the bullish structure, whereas a decisive break lower would signal a deeper corrective phase.

(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool.)