On March 23, the gold market experienced significant turbulence, with prices falling below the key support level of $5,000 per ounce and recording a cumulative weekly decline of over 10%. According to analysis, this sharp downturn was primarily driven by pessimistic expectations from multiple central banks and escalating regional tensions, which shook short-term market confidence.
Reviewing last week's performance, spot gold initially demonstrated resilience, trading around $5,040 early in the week. However, once the critical support level was breached on Wednesday, selling pressure intensified rapidly. Analysts noted that stronger-than-expected PPI data and hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell during a press conference disrupted gold's short-term rebound trajectory. This led to consecutive declines during trading sessions in Asia and the U.S., and despite a brief attempt to rally to $4,733 on Thursday, gold ultimately fell below $4,500 due to liquidity tightening and a shift of safe-haven funds toward the U.S. dollar.
Looking ahead, market opinions are divided. Some analysts view the recent decline as an "overcorrection," arguing that the fundamental factors supporting gold's long-term bullish trend remain unchanged. While geopolitical conflicts triggered profit-taking in the short term and a stronger U.S. dollar and rising interest rates reduced gold's appeal, it is believed that buying interest will eventually return as safe-haven sentiment reignites. Analysts emphasize that gold's status as a core safe-haven asset remains solid, and its long-term investment value is expected to reemerge as policy cycles evolve following this phase of liquidity pressure.