International precious metal futures closed broadly higher in early trading hours on February 24 Beijing time. COMEX gold futures rose 3.29% to $5,247.90 per ounce, while COMEX silver futures climbed 6.87% to $88.00 per ounce.

A recent research report from Huafu Securities noted that a series of U.S. macroeconomic data releases, including resilient employment figures and hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve officials, have dampened market expectations for interest rate cuts. The consensus for the first rate cut has been pushed back from June to July. However, despite strong nonfarm payroll data, underlying structural vulnerabilities in the U.S. economy remain. The market tends to view the positive data as part of the Fed's expectation management strategy to retain policy flexibility. Moreover, due to significant downward revisions in recent data, there is disagreement over the true state of the labor market.

Huafu Securities believes that, in the medium to long term, against a backdrop of global tariff policies and geopolitical uncertainties, safe-haven and stagflation trades will continue to be central to gold trading, with its long-term allocation value remaining intact.

Dongwu Securities also holds the view that, over the medium to long term, the de-dollarization narrative remains difficult to disprove, keeping gold in an upward trend. Additionally, missed expectations for U.S. tariff revenues have raised concerns about the federal budget deficit. With fourth-quarter GDP growth significantly below market expectations, stagflation fears are growing, benefiting inflation-resistant assets such as precious metals.