Gold, silver hit record highs as Trump-Greenland row sparks safety rally

Published January 19, 2026
A worker polishes gold bullion bars at the ABC Refinery in Sydney on Wednesday.—AFP
A worker polishes gold bullion bars at the ABC Refinery in Sydney on Wednesday.—AFP

Gold and silver prices climbed to fresh peaks on Monday, as investors poured into safe-haven assets after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose extra tariffs on European countries over the control of Greenland.

Spot gold jumped 1.6 per cent to $4,666.11 as of 0551GMT, after scaling an all-time high of $4,689.39.

US gold futures for February delivery advanced 1.7pc to $4,671.90 per ounce.

On Saturday, Trump vowed to implement a wave of increasing tariffs on European allies until the United States is allowed to buy Greenland, escalating a row over the future of Denmark’s vast Arctic island.

European Union ambassadors are preparing retaliatory measures should the duties go ahead, EU diplomats said.

“Geopolitical tensions have given gold bulls yet another reason to push the yellow metal to new highs,” StoneX senior analyst Matt Simpson said.

“With Trump throwing tariffs into the mix, it is clear that his threat to Greenland is real, and that we could be one step closer to the end of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) and political imbalances within Europe.”

US stock futures and the dollar slid as Trump’s latest tariff threats raised investors’ appetite for safe-haven gold, yen, and Swiss franc, in a broad risk-averse move across markets.

Silver

Meanwhile, spot silver climbed 3.6pc to $93.15 per ounce, after hitting a record high of $94.08.

“On silver, the medium-term narrative remains constructive, supported by persistent physical deficits, resilient industrial demand, and safe-haven demand,” said Christopher Wong, a strategist at OCBC.

“But the pace of the recent extension may warrant some near-term tactical caution,” Wong said, noting that the gold-silver ratio declined sharply from highs near 105 in late 2025 to the low-50s, signalling silver’s outsized performance versus gold.

J.P. Morgan analysts said that they have a stronger preference for gold relative to silver, as any disruptive correction in silver could have some near-term contagion into gold, but still presents a buying opportunity in gold, which continues to have a cleaner, bullish structural story.

In other precious metals, spot platinum added 0.6pc to $2,341.08 per ounce, while palladium rose 0.1pc to $1,801.87.

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