๐ Recorded: Tuesday midday | ๐๏ธ Host: Simon Brown
This week on Worldwide Markets, we unpack a wild ride across commodities, central banks, tech titans, and global trade โ with gold stealing the spotlight once again.
Gold went vertical โ and then snapped back hard.
๐ Ran from around $4,300 โ $5,600, before a brutal sell-off
๐ Dropped to $4,600, now stabilising near $4,900
๐ฏ๏ธ That giant red "kangaroo tail" candle looks ugly โ butโฆ
The bigger picture hasn't changed:
๐ต Debasement trade still intact
๐ Central banks bought ~800 tonnes last year
๐ฆ ETF investors were big buyers again after selling in 2024
โก๏ธ Verdict: Likely consolidation, not collapse. Sideways is the base case.
Gold |Weekly | 03 February 2026
It wasn't just gold:
๐ฉ Copper, silver, platinum, palladium all surged
๐ข๏ธ Brent crude nearly hit $70
๐ชจ Aluminium hit US record prices, creating transatlantic arbitrage
Nothing goes straight up forever โ profit-taking was inevitable.
Simon stays honest here:
โ Industrial demand and price dislocations matter
โ ๏ธ But silver remains complex and opaque
๐ก Portfolio stance:
โ Holding gold miners
โ Holding gold ETFs (local & offshore)
โ No silver exposure โ and comfortable with that
Trump's Fed chair nominee spooked markets โ but context matters:
๐ Walsh is not a hawk, more a rate flip-flopper
๐ณ๏ธ Previously opposed rate cutsโฆ until Trump won
๐ Trump wants lower rates โ Walsh says he'll deliver
The challenge?
๐ง Convincing the rest of the FOMC
๐ช Jerome Powell still has influence for now
โก๏ธ Expect noise, not an instant policy pivot.
Big Elon energy this week:
๐ฐ๏ธ SpaceX acquires xAI
๐ง Grok + data + power + space = big ambitions
๐ IPO rumoured for mid-2026
๐ฐ Valuation likely north of $1 trillion
Simon likes SpaceXโฆ less excited by the social-media side.
January numbers surprised again:
๐ Sales near levels last seen in 2019 / early 2022
๐ Toyota leads, but Chinese brands keep climbing
๐จ๐ณ Chery, GWM, JAC & friends reshaping the market
Consumers are still buying โ despite high rates.
A deal was announced, but details are fuzzy:
๐ Tariffs reduced (somewhat)
๐ข๏ธ India supposedly to stop buying Russian oil (๐)
๐ธ India to buy $500bn of US goods (timeline unclear)
History lesson:
๐ฎ Trump tariff threats turn real only ~20% of the time
โ๏ธ Supreme Court still deciding if Trump even has the authority
โก๏ธ Lots of headlines, fewer guarantees.
๐
19 February
๐ Rosebank (in-person) + webcast
๐ก Topic: Tax-Free Investing & ETFs
๐ Book at justonelap.com/events
Markets are noisy, emotional, and fast โ but the big-picture trends still matter more than the candles.
Until next week:
๐ค Look after yourself
๐ค And if you can, look after someone else too
Cheers! ๐ป