Overview
- COMEX gold futures briefly topped $5,100 and settled at $5,082.50, closing above $5,000 for the first time on sustained geopolitical and policy risk.
- The yen strengthened to as high as ¥152.10 per dollar in New York before trading around the ¥152–¥154 range, with traders alert to potential Japan–U.S. action.
- Japan’s finance leaders, including Satsuki Katayama and senior official Atsushi Mimura, signaled readiness to work closely with U.S. counterparts under recent G7 understandings.
- Reports of New York Fed “rate checks” on Jan. 23 reinforced expectations of possible coordinated intervention, accelerating dollar selling.
- Tokyo equities swung sharply as a stronger yen pressured exporters, with the Nikkei falling more than 1,000 points intraday on Jan. 26 and sliding again on Jan. 28 morning after a brief rebound.