Gold and Silver Break Records as Trump Imposes Tariffs on February 1st Due to Deadlock in Greenland.

Gold (XAU/USD) reaches 4,689.39 USD/ounce and silver (XAG/USD) reaches 94.08 USD/ounce today, after President Donald Trump linked the new tariff schedule to the deadlock in Greenland in a post on Truth Social on Saturday, clearly stating the start date and steps for tariff increases. Trump Sets February 1 as the Start Date for Tariff Imposition in Greenland Dispute Trump wrote that the US will impose a 10% tariff starting February 1, 2026, on “all goods” from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Finland, then raising the tariff to 25% from June 1, 2026, until “the complete purchase of Greenland” is achieved.

In the post, Trump declared: “This tariff will have to be paid until an agreement to buy Greenland in its entirety is reached.” Price movements favor metals with higher beta coefficients: spot silver increased about 4.4% during the day to 93.85 USD/ounce after reaching 94.08 USD/ounce, while spot gold rose approximately 1.6% to 4,670.01 USD/ounce after hitting a high of 4,689.39 USD/ounce. Multifaceted market developments confirm risk-avoidance sentiment: European stocks declined on January 19, 2026, as the tariff deadline approached, with Germany’s DAX down 1.1% and France’s CAC 40 down 1.3% in early trading, according to AP news. The next macroeconomic catalyst lies in the interest rate channel: the Bank of Japan has scheduled a Monetary Policy Meeting on January 22-23, 2026, with a Monetary Policy Statement expected on January 23 and a Summary of Opinions on February 2. Liquidity considerations for metal trading segments: the US market closed on January 19, 2026, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which often shifts price discovery to futures/forex exchanges and can increase intraday slippage for leveraged metal products. What is the market pricing in? The record gold price of 4,689 USD/ounce is less significant than the tariff schedule on February 1 and June 1 because systemic macroeconomic indicators link these dates to USD exchange rate volatility and a spike in cross-asset correlations. If the Bank of Japan (BoJ) signals a more hawkish stance on January 23 while Washington simultaneously escalates trade restrictions, traders should expect significant fluctuations in JPY exchange rates and increased demand for safe-haven assets, with the surge in silver prices to 94 USD/ounce serving as a signal for funds to adopt a similar risk-hedging strategy through higher beta coefficients and sector supply shortages, rather than merely storing value.