Markets Weekly Roundup: Commodities, Crypto & Global Asset Highlights (Week Ending 31 January 2026)

Kenya, 31 January 2026 - Global markets experienced extreme volatility and sharp reversals this week, driven by major shifts in monetary policy expectations, geopolitical uncertainty and a dramatic rotation between risk and safe-haven assets.

Precious metals briefly reached historic highs before a stunning sell-off; oil remained elevated but faced mixed fundamentals; equities traded cautiously amid hedge-fund repositioning; and cryptocurrencies consolidated under macro pressure.

Gold: Historic Exceptional Volatility

Gold experienced exceptional volatility this week, initially surging to record or near-record highs as investors flocked to safe havens amid geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty. Bullish flows pushed prices sharply higher early in the week, reflecting strong demand from risk-averse traders pricing in potential shifts in monetary policy and global risk sentiment.

However, sentiment shifted late in the week when profit-taking and renewed expectations for tighter policy, partly driven by commentary around U.S. Federal Reserve leadership prospects, triggered a sharp correction, pulling prices significantly lower from their peaks. This pattern highlighted gold’s dual role as both a safe-haven asset and a tradeable commodity sensitive to policy repricing, reminding markets that price swings can be swift when macro signals evolve.

Gold started the week with strong upward momentum on safe-haven demand but ended with a notable pullback as traders recalibrated positions on policy expectations, resulting in one of the most volatile weekly performances in recent memory.

Precious Metals: Historic Rally Followed by Sharp Correction

This week’s most dramatic market story was in precious metals. Earlier in the week, gold soared past $5,500 per ounce, its highest level ever, as geopolitical risk, inflation fears and safe-haven demand gripped investors. Silver also rallied strongly, briefly trading above $110–$120 per ounce as bullion flows intensified.

Analysts linked the surge to broad macro uncertainty, dollar weakness and concerns about future monetary easing.

However, the rally reversed sharply on Friday, January 30, after news that President Trump intends to nominate Kevin Warsh as the next U.S.

Federal Reserve Chair, shifting market expectations toward a more hawkish Fed policy stance and strengthening the U.S. dollar. Precious metal prices plunged, gold fell as much as 10–11 percent and silver dropped sharply as well, marking one of the most volatile weeks in metals markets in years.

This dramatic swing underscored how sensitive bullion is to policy expectations and risk sentiment.

Early in the week, strong safe-haven inflows drove gold and silver prices to record or near-record levels as investors sought protection amid heightened uncertainty. Demand for precious metals surged, reflecting a clear defensive positioning across global markets.

However, sentiment shifted sharply toward the end of the week. Profit-taking combined with renewed policy repricing triggered a steep correction in both metals, erasing part of the earlier gains and catching short-term traders off guard.

Overall, the episode underscored the extreme volatility currently characterising commodity markets, where rapid changes in investor sentiment and macro expectations can lead to swift and dramatic price swings.

Oil Markets: Elevated But Mixed Signals

Global crude prices remained elevated this week, with Brent crude near the $70 per barrel level and WTI around $65, as geopolitical tensions and supply threat premiums supported the market.

Market analysis shows that traders are balancing short-term risk premiums (driven by geopolitical flashpoints and weather-driven outages) against a broader supply surplus that analysts expect to persist through much of 2026.

Despite these near-term highs, forecasts from market analysts suggest oil prices may average below recent peaks over the medium term, with Brent perhaps nearer the $60–$62 range and WTI closer to $55–$60, reflecting persistent oversupply and inventory builds even as short-term risk premia push spot prices up.

Oil prices held relatively firm over the week, with Brent crude trading elevated near the $70 mark, supported largely by geopolitical risk premiums that kept supply concerns in focus for traders.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) hovered around $65, showing resilience in the face of broader market uncertainty, though gains remained capped by ongoing signals of ample global supply and cautious demand expectations.

Overall, analyst consensus suggests that despite the recent firmness in headline prices, underlying fundamentals still point to modest pressure on the oil market, with supply–demand balances preventing a more sustained breakout.

Equity Markets: Caution and Mixed Returns

Equity markets continued to show choppy performance this week as global investors weighed monetary policy outlooks, macro data and corporate earnings: