Quick overview

---

Gold continued its record rally as demand for havens was bolstered by the Greenland crisis and a collapse in Japanese government debt. There were no indications that President Donald Trump, who is set to speak at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, would back down from his claim to the Arctic island.

The prime minister of Greenland responded by alerting the populace to the possibility of a military invasion, albeit one that was unlikely.

With increases approaching $13,000 per ton, copper joined the metals rally, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s prediction of ongoing flows into the US, a major factor in the strong price increase of the industrial metal.

The US has now raised the possibility of a destructive trade war by threatening tariffs on eight European countries that opposed Trump’s plan to annex Greenland, including Germany, France, and the UK. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney declared that the rules-based international order was essentially dead. At the same time, French President Emmanuel Macron criticized Trump’s trade strategies, claiming the continent needed more sovereignty to avoid “vassalization and blood politics.”

The Davos verbal spat highlighted how rapidly the relationship between longstanding US allies has deteriorated, shaking financial markets, depressing the value of the dollar, and increasing demand for safe havens like precious metals.

Concerns about the fiscal circumstances of major economies were also brought to light by a collapse in Japanese sovereign debt, which fueled the “debasement trade,” in which investors steer clear of government bonds and currencies.