Chart alert: Gold (XAU/USD) eyeing $5,000 and beyond as bullish acceleration intact

Gold_Bars_Stack
Kelvin Wong Bio Image
By  Kelvin Wong

23 January 2026 at 05:53 UTC

Key takeaways

  • Gold’s bullish acceleration remains intact: XAU/USD has broken above key supports, hit new all-time highs near US$4,970, and is now eyeing the US$5,000–5,150 zone, with momentum indicators confirming upside continuation.
  • Geopolitics are the dominant macro driver: Rising US–NATO tensions and “sell America/de-dollarization” narratives are lifting geopolitical risk premiums, reinforcing gold’s role as a preferred safe haven.
  • Technical structure supports further upside: A breakout from a medium-term ascending channel, strong RSI/MACD signals, and support holding above US$4,775 keep the near-term bias skewed toward further gains unless that level fails.

This is a follow-up analysis and an update of our prior report, “Chart Alert: Gold (XAU/USD) on the brink of bullish acceleration, US$4,780 next, published on 14 January 2026

The precious yellow metal has staged the expected bullish impulsive up move sequence above the highlighted US$4,512 short-term pivotal support and hit the short-term intermediate resistance of US$4,780 (printed a new intraday all-time high of US$4,967 on Friday, 23 January 2026 at the time of writing).

Rising geopolitical risk premiums due to expansionary US foreign policy

The recent rise in Gold (XAU/USD) from last Friday, 16 January 2026 swing low of US$4,536 has been reinforced by the “sell America/de-dollarization/debasement” narrative due to the current US expansionary and aggressive foreign policy, where US President Trump threatened long-time NATO allies of the US over the control of Greenland.

The escalating confrontation between the US and NATO members signals a potential rupture in the post–World War II global order, with Washington increasingly perceived as stepping away from its traditional role as a responsible anchor of the rules-based, consensus-driven system.

As a result, global asset allocators that have heavily overweighted US assets over the past two decades may begin to reassess and trim such exposures amid rising geopolitical risk premiums. This repricing dynamic is reinforcing a positive feedback loop for gold (XAU/USD), as demand for safe-haven assets accelerates in response to an increasingly fragmented and unpredictable geopolitical landscape.

Let us now decipher the latest short-term (1 to 3 days) trend trajectory of Gold (XAU/USD) from a technical analysis perspective

Short-term trend (1 to 3 days): Bullish acceleration extends

Gold remains in a bullish acceleration phase
Fig. 1: Gold (XAU/USD) minor trend as of 23 Jan 2026 (Source: TradingView)
Daily MACD trend indicator of Gold remains in a bullish trending condition
Fig. 2: Gold (XAU/USD) medium-term & major trends as of 23 Jan 2026 (Source: TradingView)

Watch the US$4,775 short-term pivotal support on Gold (XAU/USD) to maintain the minor bullish acceleration phase for the next intermediate resistances to come in at US$5,000/5,005 and US$5,049/5,149 in the first step (see Fig. 1).

On the other hand, a break with an hourly close below US$4,775 invalidates the direct rise scenario, allowing a minor corrective decline sequence to unfold and expose the next intermediate supports at US$4,684 and US$4,645/4,600 before another potential bullish upleg materializes.

Key elements to support the bullish bias

  • Since its key low of US$4,536 on 16 January 2026, Gold (XAU/USD) has staged a gap-up and broken above the upper boundary of a medium-term ascending channel from its 28 October 2025 low, which suggests a transition into a bullish acceleration phase.
  • The hourly RSI momentum indicator has not flashed out any bearish divergence condition while it continues to hover in its overbought region.
  • The daily MACD trend indicator has continued to trend upwards above its centreline, which supports the ongoing medium-term uptrend phase in Gold (XAU/USD) with its first medium-term resistance at US$5,295/5,348 (see Fig. 2).

Opinions are the authors'; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. The provided publication is for informational and educational purposes only.
If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please refer to the MarketPulse Terms of Use.
Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets.
© 2026 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.