Gold and silver prices rose in early U.S. trading on Wednesday (February 18), with silver leading the gains again. Prices rebounded from Tuesday's decline, and investors made some position adjustments ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve meeting minutes this afternoon.



April gold futures rose $71.50 to $4,977.40 an ounce; March silver futures rose $2.526 to $76 an ounce.

The key data release for the US market today is the FOMC meeting minutes, to be released this afternoon. Traders and investors will carefully study the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting. The Fed decided to keep interest rates unchanged at its January meeting. If it signals a willingness to cut rates, it will be beneficial to the commodity market and boost demand.

Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr said on Tuesday that interest rates need to remain unchanged "for some time" until inflation moves more clearly toward the 2% target. Chicago Fed President Osdan Goolsby said on the same day that there is still room for further rate cuts this year if inflation continues to fall toward the target.

The US-Iran nuclear negotiations have made some progress.

A U.S. official told Axios that the U.S.-Iran nuclear talks held in Geneva on Tuesday "made progress," but "many details remain to be discussed." Following talks with Trump's special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Vitkov, Iran indicated it would submit a concrete proposal within two weeks to bridge the differences between the two sides.

Axios reports that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi stated earlier that the two sides had reached an agreement on the "guiding principles" of a potential nuclear deal. Omani Foreign Minister Badr Abbousaidi, who mediated the negotiations, said the second round of talks "made good progress in clarifying common objectives and related technical issues."

Japan begins large-scale investment in the United States.

Japan plans to invest up to $36 billion in U.S. oil, gas, and critical mineral projects, the first installment of its $550 billion commitment under a trade deal with the Trump administration.

According to Bloomberg, the investment projects, including a natural gas facility in Ohio, a deepwater crude oil export facility in the Gulf of Mexico, and a synthetic industrial diamond production plant, aim to build a resilient supply chain and achieve mutual benefit for the US and Japan. The report states that these projects will bring significant economic benefits such as power generation, crude oil exports, and high-end industrial production, and are considered a key step in the bilateral trade agreement.

Ukraine claims Russia is delaying the peace talks process

The Geneva talks, brokered by the United States, entered their second day, with Ukrainian President Zelensky accusing Russia of deliberately delaying the negotiation process.

Zelensky said on Wednesday on the X platform: "Russia is trying to delay negotiations that could have entered the final stage."

The head of the Russian delegation and presidential aide, Vladimir Medinsky, said the talks lasted about two hours and were difficult but pragmatic, and the next round of talks will be held soon.

Following Tuesday's talks, Rustem Umerov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, met with representatives from the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. Zelenskyy stated, "We believe that European participation is crucial to reaching a viable agreement."

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Vitkov and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner attended the Geneva talks, having previously participated in two rounds of negotiations. Vitkov stated that the previous day's talks had achieved "substantial progress," with both sides agreeing to continue pushing forward with the agreement. However, even though the scope of the negotiations was broader than the Abu Dhabi talks, no significant breakthrough was achieved overall.

Key developments in external markets

The dollar index rose slightly; crude oil prices rose, trading around $63.75 a barrel; the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note is currently at 4.06%.

Technical Analysis

April gold futures


(COMEX Gold Daily Chart Source: FX678)

The next upside target for the bulls: a firm hold above the strong resistance level of $5250.00.

Short-term downside target for bears: A break below the strong support level of last week's low of $4670.00.

First resistance: $5000.00 → This week's high of $5074.40

First support level: This week's low of $4854.20 → $4800.00

March silver futures

The next upside target for the bulls: a firm hold above the strong resistance level of $90.00.

Short-term downside target for bears: A break below the strong support level of $63.90, the February low.

First resistance: This week's high of $78.42 → $80.00

First support level: This week's low of $71.815 → $71.00

Note: There are two main pricing mechanisms in the gold market: the spot market, where prices correspond to immediate purchase and delivery; and the futures market, where prices correspond to delivery at a future date. Due to year-end position adjustments and market liquidity, December gold futures are currently the most actively traded contract on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).