Gold rises today despite the holiday, trading above $2,620.

Gold prices rose during trading on Thursday despite low trading volumes on the yellow metal due to the year-end holiday; however, gold maintained trading above the level of $2,620 per ounce.

Current gold status

In terms of trading, spot gold prices rose by about 0.4% or nearly $12, reaching $2,628.28 per ounce, while February futures gold prices increased by 0.22% to record $2,641.30 per ounce.

What impacted today’s movements?

Investors remained focused on the expectations surrounding the monetary policy of the US Federal Reserve and anticipated tariff policies under the upcoming Trump administration, which bolstered demand for gold due to the heightened level of uncertainty.

Last week, the Federal Reserve signaled fewer interest rate cuts in 2025, but these expectations faced some challenges due to weaker-than-expected personal consumption expenditures inflation data, indicating the possibility of more rate cuts, which would benefit non-yielding gold.

On the other hand, the Chinese government made new commitments to increase the size of economic stimulus in the coming period, and the People's Bank of China announced yesterday morning the injection of 300 billion yuan in liquidity into banks through medium-term lending facilities, raising hopes for increased demand for gold from the world’s largest consumer of the precious metal.

Geopolitically, efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement in Palestine have failed, after Hamas reported changes in the terms of the agreement by the Israeli occupation government, despite progress reported by both sides in recent days.

Overall, gold is expected to end this year with significant gains approaching 27%, marking its strongest annual performance since 2010, driven by heavy purchases by central banks, increasing geopolitical tensions, and monetary easing by major central banks.