Gold Futures Expected To Ease Next Week On Firmer US Dollar Sentiment

By Abdul Hamid A Rahman

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 (Bernama) -- The gold futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives is expected to trade lower next week amid firmer US dollar sentiment.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said spot gold prices have edged closer to the US$5,000 per troy ounce level as the US dollar firmed amid news about the incoming United States Federal Reserve (Fed) chairman.

He said former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh has been tipped as the next Fed chairman and is regarded as an inflation hawk based on his tenure from 2006 to 2011.

“Spot gold prices hit another record high of around US$5,500 per ounce this week, which may have prompted traders to lock in gains, with the leadership speculation acting as the catalyst,” he told Bernama.

As such, Mohd Afzanizam expected spot gold prices to hover between US$4,950 per troy ounce and US$4,970 per troy ounce next week, as markets await upcoming data releases, including the non-farm payrolls (NFP) report and the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) indices.

On a week-on-week basis, the January 2026 contract rose to US$5,063.50 per troy ounce from US$4,914.80 per troy ounce, February 2026 climbed to US$5,062.60 per troy ounce from US$4,928.00 per troy ounce, and March 2026 surged to US$5,080.90 per troy ounce from US$4,945.90 per troy ounce, a week earlier.

The April, June and August 2026 contracts also settled higher at US$5,097.70 per troy ounce versus US$4,963.70 per troy ounce previously.

Weekly trading volume increased to 1,705 lots from 1,331 lots a week earlier, while open interest slid to 332 contracts from 567 contracts.

Physical gold was fixed at US$5,405.00 per troy ounce at the London Bullion Market Association afternoon fix on Jan 29, 2026.

-- BERNAMA