Author: Fiona Craig

Gold and silver prices edged lower in Asian trading on Thursday after stronger-than-anticipated U.S. employment figures reduced expectations for additional Federal Reserve rate cuts. Losses, however, were tempered by ongoing safe-haven demand.

Despite the pullback, precious metals held on to much of this week’s gains, supported by a softer dollar overall and continued geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran.

Spot gold declined 0.7% to $5,051.26 per ounce, while April gold futures dropped 0.5% to $5,072.04/oz as of 01:36 ET (06:36 GMT). Spot silver slid 1.3% to $83.2505/oz, and platinum eased 1.6% to $2,107.30/oz.

Dollar rebounds after upbeat payrolls

The retreat in gold followed Wednesday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, which showed January job growth exceeding expectations. The data underscored resilience in the labor market, dampening hopes that weakening employment conditions would prompt the Federal Reserve to accelerate rate reductions.

According to CME FedWatch data, markets now assign a 94.1% probability that the Fed will keep rates unchanged in March, with a 78% chance of a similar outcome in April.

The stronger jobs reading also fueled a rebound in the U.S. dollar overnight, creating headwinds for metals priced in the currency.

Still, the greenback stabilized in Asian hours and remained under some weekly pressure, partly due to renewed strength in the Japanese yen. Analysts at OCBC noted that for the dollar to stage a sustained recovery, further evidence of economic resilience in the U.S. would be required—potentially offering some support to gold in the near term.

“Structural drags — Fed succession uncertainty and broader US policy risks — mean the USD will still need additional upside surprises in upcoming data to sustain any rebound,” OCBC analysts said.

Even so, bullion markets have remained volatile in recent sessions, reflecting heightened uncertainty around U.S. monetary policy.

Inflation data and Iran tensions ahead

Investors are now awaiting additional U.S. economic indicators, including January consumer price index data due Friday. Inflation and labor market conditions remain the Fed’s primary considerations in shaping interest rate policy.

Weekly jobless claims figures are also scheduled for release later Thursday.

At the same time, geopolitical risks continued to underpin safe-haven demand. While Washington and Tehran have reported limited progress in recent nuclear discussions, the U.S. is reportedly preparing to deploy a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged Iran to accept a deal and met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, keeping tensions in focus for global markets.

Oil prices ticked up on Thursday as markets kept a close eye on mounting geopolitical tensions between Washington and Tehran, with investors wary that any disruption to shipping routes or energy infrastructure could tighten global supply.

Brent crude futures rose 19 cents, or 0.27%, to $69.59 a barrel by 08:01 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 20 cents, or 0.31%, to $64.83.

The upward move follows gains in the previous session, when Brent added 0.87% and WTI climbed more than 1.05%. Concerns over potential fallout from U.S.-Iran tensions overshadowed news of a sizable build in U.S. crude inventories.

After meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said no “definitive” agreement had been reached on next steps regarding Iran, though he stressed that dialogue with Tehran would continue.

Earlier this week, Trump indicated he was considering deploying a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East if negotiations fail to yield progress, even as both sides prepared to resume talks.

U.S. and Iranian representatives held indirect discussions in Oman last week, but details of the next round—including timing and location—have yet to be confirmed.

Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG, said that a sustained breakout above the $65–$66 range in WTI would likely require further escalation in the Middle East. Conversely, any easing of tensions could prompt a pullback toward the $60–$61 area as traders lock in profits.

On the economic front, stronger-than-expected U.S. employment data lent additional support to demand expectations. The Labor Department reported that job creation accelerated in January and the unemployment rate dipped to 4.3%, signaling ongoing resilience in the world’s largest economy.

“The resilient U.S. economy is also supporting oil demand expectations,” said Mingyu Gao, chief researcher for energy and chemicals at China Futures.

Still, gains were tempered by a sharp rise in U.S. stockpiles. The Energy Information Administration reported that crude inventories jumped by 8.5 million barrels last week to 428.8 million barrels—far exceeding analysts’ expectations for a 793,000-barrel increase.

Gao noted, however, that global inventory builds since the start of the year have generally undershot forecasts, and speculative net-long positions in international crude markets have yet to reach stretched levels.

Taken together, these factors suggest oil prices could remain biased to the upside, underpinned by geopolitical uncertainty, tighter sanctions on Russian exports and expectations of constrained supply, Gao added.

Hermès (EU:RMS) delivered stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter growth on Thursday, supported by resilient demand in the United States and Japan.

Revenue for the final three months of the year increased 9.8% at constant exchange rates, surpassing analyst projections of 8.4%, according to a Visible Alpha consensus. The Americas region stood out, rising 12.1%—well above expectations of roughly 9%—with the U.S. market leading the advance.

Chief Executive Axel Dumas said the company approaches 2026 with confidence, noting that planned price increases this year will average between 5% and 6%, compared with around 6% to 7% in 2025, reflecting currency movements.

“The Hermès model based on an exclusive and qualitative network, as well as strong vertical integration, has once again proven successful. This distinctive strategy has enabled the house to achieve robust revenue growth and strong performance,” Dumas said.

The group’s key leather goods division, which accounts for the majority of earnings, recorded 14.6% organic growth in the quarter. All business lines exceeded expectations except for perfume and beauty, where revenue declined 14.6%.

For the full year, operating profit reached €6.57 billion, representing a margin of 41%, slightly ahead of market forecasts of 40%.

“We would not expect to see material changes to consensus estimates for FY26E following these results, which we view as solid in the context of a dynamic industry environment,” said RBC Capital Markets analyst Piral Dadhania.

Hermès continues to outperform much of the luxury sector, including competitors such as LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE. Its strategy of targeting ultra-wealthy clientele and maintaining strict control over supply has helped shield the brand from softer spending among more price-sensitive luxury consumers.

The company proposed a dividend of €18 per share.

Britain’s economy recorded only a slight expansion in December, according to official figures, maintaining pressure on the Bank of England as policymakers weigh further interest rate cuts in 2026.

Data released Thursday by the Office for National Statistics showed that gross domestic product increased by 0.1% in the final month of 2025. That represented a slowdown from November’s 0.2% growth, which had itself been revised down from an initial estimate of 0.3%. November’s stronger reading had been boosted by Jaguar Land Rover’s rebound in output following disruption caused by a cyber attack.

Over the final quarter of 2025, the economy expanded by 0.1%, unchanged from the July-to-September period. For the full year, U.K. growth came in at 1.0%, slightly below the 1.1% recorded in 2024 and modest by historical standards.

Manufacturing output declined by 0.5% in December, reversing November’s 1.9% gain, which had been revised from 2.1%. The earlier surge had been supported by continued normalization at Jaguar Land Rover’s production sites after last year’s cyber incident.

“Looking ahead, we’re more positive on the U.K.’s growth outlook, with the Autumn budget proving less of a headwind to near-term economic activity than we’d originally anticipated,” said Grant Slade, an economist at investment research firm Morningstar.

“Notwithstanding, economic growth appears set to soften sequentially in 2026, consistent with the BoE’s still restrictive policy stance and weakening labor market conditions.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves raised taxes in her Autumn budget toward the end of last year, though the increases were not as severe as some had feared.

The Bank of England kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at its first meeting of 2026, following six reductions since August 2024. The vote was narrowly split, with four of the nine Monetary Policy Committee members backing another cut, pointing to a strong possibility of further easing at the March meeting.

Governor Andrew Bailey stressed at the accompanying press conference that inflation has fallen sharply from its peak of more than 10% three years ago, and the central bank now expects it to return to the 2% target this spring, sooner than previously anticipated.

IXICO plc (LSE:IXI) has won a contract extension worth approximately £1.5 million tied to an ongoing global Phase 2 clinical trial in Huntington’s disease. The award comes from one of the world’s largest international pharmaceutical groups, reflecting continued progress in the study and reinforcing IXICO’s role in advanced neurological drug development programmes.

The additional work is expected to generate around £1.5 million in revenue for IXICO over the next three years. The extension underscores the company’s long-standing relationships with major biopharma clients and the growing reliance on imaging biomarkers and AI-driven analytics to support decision-making in complex central nervous system trials.

Bram Goorden, CEO of IXICO, commented: “This contract extension is an example of how IXICO’s compelling IXI™ technology platform and neurological disease expertise consistently deliver gold standard outcomes for biopharma customers as they advance drug development in such a devastating neurological disease.”

About IXICO plc

IXICO is a global specialist in neuroscience imaging and biomarker analytics, deploying its proprietary AI-powered IXI™ platform to support the discovery, development and monitoring of treatments for neurological disorders. The company operates as an end-to-end Imaging Contract Research Organisation (iCRO), working with leading pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms, academic consortia and non-profit organisations.

With more than 20 years of experience, IXICO has contributed to hundreds of neurological clinical trials and analysed hundreds of thousands of brain scans. Its platform is purpose-built for neurological disease, processing imaging data from global studies to measure biomarkers linked to the diagnosis, progression and treatment of conditions such as Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s and Parkinson’s disease. By combining advanced analytics with scientific expertise, IXICO aims to reduce variability, enhance reproducibility and translate complex imaging data into clinically meaningful insights.

Delta Gold Technologies PLC (AQSE:DGQ) has struck a Research Sponsorship and exclusive Technology Licensing Agreement with Penn State University, strengthening its push to build a global intellectual property portfolio in quantum computing materials.

The Pennsylvania-based university has recently published research into structures and methods for quantum computing using gold—work that closely mirrors Delta’s ongoing programme with the University of Toronto. The new partnership brings the two streams of research into closer strategic alignment and forms part of Delta’s ambition to establish what it describes as a global “centre of excellence” in quantum materials across leading academic institutions.

Under the commercial terms, Delta will fund an initial year of research at Penn State with an estimated budget of up to US$997,142, payable on a cost-reimbursement basis. The programme will expand existing work on gold-based quantum technologies, with the aim of generating commercially valuable intellectual property. Over three years, the total reimbursable funding could reach up to US$2,991,426.

In return, Delta will receive an exclusive, sublicensable, royalty-bearing licence to any intellectual property developed under the programme. The licence allows the company to make, use, import and commercialise products across all fields except human health. A running royalty of 1% on net sales will become payable once cumulative sales of licensed products exceed US$20 million.

Both parties have agreed to cooperate in good faith on the defence and enforcement of intellectual property rights. The agreement may be terminated by either side with 60 days’ notice.

R. Michael Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Delta, commented: “We are very excited to work with Penn State, a top American University with extraordinary abilities in materials science and engineering. Amazingly, independently they were investigating the properties of nano scale gold and other materials for quantum computing at the same time as our work that is on-going at University of Toronto with similar materials. Signing an agreement with Penn State adds to our portfolio of potential IP and is a direct execution step of our mission to establish a “Centre of Excellence” in Quantum Computing Research. The opportunity for top universities to collaborate is extremely exciting in the developing field.”

About Penn State

Penn State (The Pennsylvania State University) is a public land-grant research institution founded in 1855, with its main campus at University Park in State College, Pennsylvania. The university serves around 90,000 students across more than 20 campuses and offers over 275 degree programmes. It is recognised for its strength in materials science, extensive alumni network and long-standing research heritage.

About Delta Gold Technologies PLC

Delta Gold Technologies is focused on developing intellectual property for the quantum computing sector, centred on nano-scale gold and related materials. The company is working with leading nanotechnology and quantum computing teams worldwide to advance research, file provisional patents and ultimately license technology into global markets.