This is a follow-up analysis and an update of our prior report, “Chart alert: Gold (XAU/USD) eyeing $5,000 and beyond as bullish acceleration intact”, published on 23 January 2026.
Since the start of this week, Gold (XAU/USD) continued to extend its bullish acceleration and hit the intermediate resistance zone at US$5,049/5,149, as highlighted.
The precious yellow metal printed a fresh all-time high of US$5,602 on Thursday, 29 January, and then staged a swift 11.8% decline to an intraday low of US$4,941 on Friday, 30 January, at the time of writing.
The volatile movement seen in Gold (XAU/USD) in the past 24 hours has not been triggered by any concrete fundamental catalysts.
Media reports suggesting that former US Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Walsh may be nominated as the next Fed Chair, an announcement expected later today by President Trump, have been cited as the catalyst behind the ongoing pullback in precious metals.
Walsh is widely viewed as hawkish, raising concerns over tighter monetary policy and higher-for-longer interest rates, which have weighed on gold and broader precious metals prices.
Based on technical analysis and order flows, it seems like short-term speculative leveraged long positions got stopped when Gold (XAU/USD) crossed below a short-term pivotal support at US$5,238.
Overall, the short-term bullish acceleration phase for Gold has been damaged.
Let’s now look at the latest short-term technical elements to decipher the yellow metal’s potential trajectory for the next 1 to 3 days.