Surging to 5000! Spot gold has a strong start to the new year Analyst: There is still room for further gains.

In recent times, the strong rise in gold prices shows that the momentum behind precious metals is significantly stronger than market expectations. On Thursday, spot gold strengthened to over $4900 per ounce, rebounding nearly $130 from the daily low, reaching a high of $4940.79, a new historical high. Spot gold has shown a strong start to the new year, with a gain of 13% this month and nearly $600 in cumulative gains. Traditionally, gold is viewed as a "safe haven asset" by investors, with its price movements usually inversely correlated with the stock market, and long-term gains relatively mild. However, some analysts point out that the medium to long-term outlook for gold is currently displaying rare signs of strength. Katie Stockton, founder and managing partner of Fairlead Strategies, stated in an interview that gold currently has positive momentum in both the short and long term. "It now has a dual advantage, with very strong momentum both in the short term and long term," she pointed out that the correlation between precious metals and the stock market is decreasing, helping to improve the diversification effect of investment portfolios. In terms of short-term catalysts, the rapid rise in gold prices over the past three days is closely related to the sudden surge in market risk aversion. Previously, U.S. President Trump threatened to impose high tariffs on NATO allies who opposed the U.S. takeover of Greenland's territory, causing investors to flee the U.S. market and related securities en masse, leading to a global sell-off in major markets. Funds quickly flowed into metal assets, boosting gold prices. Although Trump later downplayed the threat, stating that tariffs would not be implemented, investors' risk aversion sentiment has formed, providing continued support for gold prices. Analysts believe that the strength in gold prices is not only driven by short-term events, but also reflects broader resilience in the commodities market. Stockton pointed out that other precious metals like palladium and platinum have recently experienced "opportunistic breakouts," indicating that the entire precious metals sector is in a trending upward phase. "This is a clearly trending asset class opportunity," she said. "We will respect this momentum until the trend is broken." Looking ahead, Stockton believes that while it is difficult to predict the exact mid-year gold price levels, overall technical indicators continue to show an upward trend. "We cannot accurately predict where gold prices will be mid-year, but almost all indicators currently show an upward trend," she said, "so we tend to believe that there is still room for gold prices to continue to rise."