Gold prices remained largely unchanged after two consecutive days of losses, as trading activity slowed due to market closures across Asia for the Lunar New Year holiday. During early Asian trading, gold hovered around $4,880 per ounce, having fallen more than 3% over the previous two sessions as the U.S. dollar strengthened. Market movements have been unusually volatile since a historic sell-off earlier this month. On Tuesday, a key dollar index rose by as much as 0.4% before paring gains. In late January, a strong rally pushed gold to a record high above $5,595 per ounce, but overheating prompted a sharp correction over just two trading days, pulling prices down to around $4,400. Although gold has since rebounded, it has yet to establish a clear support level. Several financial institutions, including BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, and Goldman Sachs, expect gold to resume its upward trend, citing persistent supportive factors such as heightened geopolitical tensions, investor shifts away from sovereign bonds and currencies, and concerns over the Federal Reserve’s independence. In the near term, investors will focus on speeches by Federal Reserve officials for clues on U.S. monetary policy. Expectations of interest rate cuts tend to benefit non-yielding precious metals—last Friday, softer inflation data reinforced these expectations, briefly lifting gold prices. Spot gold was flat at $4,880.18 per ounce; silver fell slightly by 1% to $72.83 per ounce; platinum rose 0.9%, while palladium gained 0.5%.