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Another week of noise, numbers and nervous markets, and with the mainstream media missing the real story, and offering little clarity, rate expectations swing one way, political rhetoric the other. The US remains in shutdown and markets are starting to feel the strain, with investors questioning how long Washington’s political deadlock can drag on before confidence cracks. This uncertainty is beginning to ripple through global markets. Investors are reverting to caution, and in many cases, to gold.
The Gold Market, Two Weeks of Fire and Friction
The past fortnight has been a tale of two halves, a powerful surge followed by an equally sharp correction. In the first week, gold extended its relentless climb, repeatedly breaking all-time highs and setting fresh records across both USD and GBP terms. The move was fuelled by a rare moment of consensus among major US banks, all of which released bullish 2026 forecasts projecting gains of around 25%, a headline too tempting for momentum traders to ignore.
The subsequent pullback was less about changing sentiment and more about simple market mechanics: profit-taking and resistance-testing after a vertical move. Any meaningful expansion demands a contraction first, and this appears to be just that, the market pausing to catch its breath rather than reversing course.
Far from a warning sign, the recent dip looks like an opportunity. With fundamentals unchanged, persistent inflation, fiscal gridlock in the US, and unwavering central-bank demand, the retracement may prove to be a textbook “buy-the-dip” setup before the next leg higher.
Politics & Power
In politics, the last two weeks have resembled an endurance sport, plenty of motion, not much progress. In Washington, the government remains in shutdown mode, while Westminster is doing its best impression of stability by arguing about everything except the economy, while Reform continues to treat opinion polls like a contact sport.
Meanwhile, Labour’s excuses are getting longer, and central bankers everywhere are pretending not to panic. It’s all good fun until the bond market joins in, which is why more investors are quietly voting with their wallets and buying gold instead of campaign and fiat promises.
Markets in Brief
The last two weeks have done little to reassure anyone that the global economy knows where it’s heading. Equities remain nervous, swinging between optimism over potential rate cuts and dread that inflation isn’t quite finished with us yet. The FTSE 100 drifted lower as energy and banking stocks gave up early gains, while in the US, the S&P 500 and Dow saw their recent momentum stall as bond yields crept higher and corporate earnings guidance began to cool.
In the bond market, yields are again doing the heavy lifting. Ten-year US Treasuries are flirting with the psychologically important 5% level, not because inflation is surging, but because supply is. With Washington still locked in fiscal stalemate and deficits ballooning, the market is quietly demanding a higher risk premium to lend to the world’s biggest borrower. The UK’s gilts aren’t faring much better, demand is tepid, and every slip in GDP data makes the Bank of England’s “soft landing” narrative look increasingly like wishful thinking.
Commodities tell a similar story: oil remains elevated, keeping pressure on headline inflation, while copper and silver continue to suggest that industrial demand is slowing. Put simply, there’s confusion at the core — policymakers want lower inflation without a slowdown, investors want rate cuts without a crisis, and markets are stuck somewhere in between. In that kind of environment, it’s no wonder capital keeps rotating back into gold — the one asset that doesn’t rely on anyone keeping their promises.
Read, Watch and Think :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
As the dust settles on another volatile fortnight, one thing remains clear: confidence is fragile, debt is growing, and trust in policy is wearing thin. Gold isn’t soaring because the world is collapsing, it’s holding firm because investors are quietly preparing in case it does. In uncertain times, calm conviction beats noisy optimism every time.
Whether you see the past two weeks as volatility or opportunity depends on your time horizon. Traders chase noise; investors seek permanence. Gold, as ever, rewards the latter.
