Gold Breaks $5,500, Sets $5,608 Record High – Jan 2026

Gold breaks $5,500 as spot prices hit a fresh all-time high of $5,608.35/oz on January 29, 2026, extending a historic rally. Bloomberg reported the move above $5,500 in late January amid safe-haven demand and shifting rate expectations.

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Context

Gold breaks $5,500 after a month of rapid gains tied to a weaker dollar and a broad risk-off bid. Reuters described the dollar sliding to a near four-year low as gold’s rally powered higher.

TradingEconomics shows spot gold around $5,507.43/oz on Jan. 29, with a recorded all-time high of $5,608.35/oz. TradingEconomics, Jan. 29, 2026. The same dataset shows gold up 26.94% over the past month and 96.96% year-on-year as of Jan. 29.

Behind the tape is a structural reserve shift: reporting citing World Gold Council data says foreign official gold holdings have exceeded about $4 trillion in value, surpassing roughly $3.9 trillion in US Treasuries for the first time since 1996.

Details

The late-January surge followed an outsized single-day move: the prior session’s jump was reported as roughly 4.6%, the largest one-day gain since the March 2020 Covid shock. Bloomberg, Jan. 28, 2026. Yahoo Finance also carried Bloomberg strategist commentary that framed the pace as extreme and potentially unstable.

Bank research escalated alongside the rally. A Reuters factbox carried by Investing.com said Deutsche Bank sees gold at $6,000/oz in 2026, with an upside scenario well above that. Investing.com (Reuters), Jan. 27, 2026. “In alternative scenarios, a $6,900 per ounce price would in fact be more in line with the past two years’ outperformance.” – Deutsche Bank (commodities research), Jan. 27, 2026.

Goldman Sachs also lifted its forecast. Reuters reported Goldman raised its 2026-end target by $500 to $5,400/oz, pointing to continued buying and diversification demand. Reuters, Jan. 21, 2026. “We believe that private sector diversification buyers… don’t liquidate their gold holdings in 2026, effectively lifting the starting point of our price forecast.” – Goldman Sachs commodities team, Jan. 21, 2026.

Impact

The rally’s significance goes beyond price discovery. When foreign official gold holdings overtake Treasuries by market value, it signals a tangible reweighting in how reserve managers price geopolitical risk and dollar exposure.

Demand mechanics also look different in a world where central banks are persistent buyers rather than marginal sellers. The research brief used in this report pegs BRICS-related gold reserves at about $4 trillion in value and notes the crossover versus Treasuries at roughly $3.9 trillion. Web Snack research brief, Jan. 29, 2026. That narrative has been amplified by market outlets tracking the same “gold over Treasuries” milestone.

Flows matter on the investor side as well. The World Gold Council’s ETF report says 2025 was the strongest year of inflows on record, with global gold ETF assets under management more than doubling. World Gold Council, Jan. 7, 2026. In parallel, mainstream coverage flagged overbought signals, including extremely high RSI readings in the same late-January window.

Next Steps

Markets will now focus on whether gold holds above the $5,500 psychological level and how quickly price volatility cools after a near-vertical month. Bloomberg, Jan. 28, 2026. Traders will also track the dollar’s path, because a weaker dollar has been consistently cited as a core tailwind for the move.

On the macro side, the Fed decision and forward guidance remain central, as the late-January rally unfolded alongside shifting expectations for the US rates path. Bloomberg, Jan. 28, 2026. On the structural side, the key watchpoint is whether central-bank diversification continues at scale, reinforcing the reserve-allocation trend highlighted by the gold-over-Treasuries crossover.

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P.S. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Always conduct your own research and make independent decisions.