Gold steadies underneath its fresh all-time high ahead of US trading session

LONDON (February 20) Gold’s price (XAU/USD) orbits near its fresh all-time high after already having printed one in early European trading on Thursday. The push higher comes after United States (US) President Donald Trump said that a trade deal with China could be possible. Geopolitical concerns at the same time grew after President Trump said Ukraine started the war with Russia and alluded it is time to repay the US for all the funding provided. 

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve (Fed) Minutes for the January policy meeting released on Wednesday had little impact. Only a handful of Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members advocated for a steady interest rate and no rush for any cuts. Considering this, chances for a June interest rate cut still stand. 

Daily digest market movers: Flights to NY

• Thousands of Gold bars are being physically moved from the Bank of England's vaults to the US futures market, exposing logistical bottlenecks in the global market. The move is driven by an arbitrage opportunity created by speculation that US President Donald Trump will impose tariffs on Gold, with traders buying spot Gold in London and selling futures contracts in the US, Bloomberg reports.
• Gold Fields Ltd. said its full-year profit surged by 77% last year after the precious metal price soared, while the company started to overcome operational challenges at mines in Chile and South Africa, Reuters reports.
• The relationship between the US and Ukraine reached a new low on Wednesday, with a social media frenzy between US President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. There are growing concerns that Trump could halt American support for Ukraine after Russia invaded its neighbor in 2022. The US leader said on social media on Wednesday that Volodymyr Zelenskiy should “better move fast” to reach a deal with Russia, “or he is not going to have a country left,” Bloomberg reports. 

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