Summary
- Euro and sterling surged as the dollar sell-off extended.
- Base metals saw moderate fluctuations, as precious metals rejected further upside, limiting base metals’ gains despite dollar weakness.
- Gold met resistance and silver turned two-way below recent highs.
Macro
US equities opened mixed on Tuesday, with the Dow in the red while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq pushed higher. The dollar came under renewed pressure as both the euro and sterling climbed to their strongest levels in more than four years. The shift reflected both improving indicators out of Europe and lingering unease over US policy volatility, which has driven a persistent “sell dollar” tone over the past week. The DXY dipped toward 96.2, revisiting lows briefly seen in September, while the 10-year Treasury yield held above 4.20%.
New Delhi and Brussels unveiled their trade agreement to reduce tariff barriers between the EU and India. The deal will eliminate or cut duties on most EU exports to India, with Brussels highlighting autos, machinery, and alcohol among the beneficiaries. Sensitive agricultural goods on both sides were deliberately excluded, suggesting negotiators prioritised market-access gains in industrial sectors over contentious food products. While modest in near-term macro impact, the pact underlines a broader push within Europe to diversify trade partnerships beyond the US and China.
Base Metals
Base metals traded in intraday ranges today, failing to gain meaningful traction despite continued dollar weakness. Market attention instead remained firmly on precious metals, where repeated attempts to retest recent highs were quickly rejected. In our view, this dynamic helped cap upside momentum across the base metals complex.
There is a growing sense that precious metals may be due for a correction, although the depth of any pullback remains uncertain, ranging from a healthy consolidation to a more material trend reset. While we would not expect base metals to mirror such moves one-for-one, a decisive weakening in gold and silver could still weigh on the complex, particularly given stretched positioning. In that scenario, initial downside would likely be driven by position clean-up rather than a deterioration in fundamentals, before more stable support levels emerge.
In the meantime, the complex posted modest volatility during today’s session, resulting in modest moves day-on-day. Copper and aluminium fluctuated around the $13,000/t and $3,180/t, respectively. Zinc remained elevated at $3,350/t as lead weakened to $2,010/t.
Precious Metals & Energy
Precious metals were two-way throughout the session. Gold extended its advance before stalling into resistance near $5,100/oz. Silver initially tracked higher toward $113/oz before retreating below the $110/oz area, reflecting hesitation over whether to continue shadowing gold’s momentum or reconnect with base-metals sentiment. Volatility remains elevated, and positioning appears increasingly sensitive to micro shifts in macro headlines.
Oil prices rallied, with WTI near $62.0/bbl and Brent close to $66.9/bbl, supported by geopolitical premium.
All price data is from 27.01.2026 as of 17:30