On Thursday (February 27th) morning trading in the Asian market, spot gold fluctuated narrowly and is currently trading around $2916.08 per ounce. On Wednesday (February 26), spot gold ran in shock. The highest point in the session hit 2930 and the lowest point fell to around 2891, closing at 2916.08 US dollars/ounce, close to flat. US President Trump said that Ukrainian President Zelensky would go to Washington on Friday to sign an agreement on rare earth minerals. Russian and Ukrainian diplomats would hold talks in Türkiye on Thursday. The market expected the end of the Russian Ukrainian war, which depressed the trend of gold prices. However, the uncertainty brought by Trump's tariff plan continued to increase, curbing risk appetite, and still providing hedge support for gold prices.

US President Trump announced on Wednesday that Ukrainian President Zelensky will travel to Washington on Friday to sign a rare earth mineral agreement. Zelensky stated that the success of the agreement will depend on the outcome of discussions between the two sides.

According to the agreement, Kiev will hand over a portion of its mineral resources to a fund jointly controlled by the United States, which is crucial for Ukraine to gain strong support from Trump as he seeks a quick end to Russia's war.

Trump confirmed that Zelensky will visit Washington on Friday to sign agreements on rare earths and other issues, but hinted that the United States will not provide broad security guarantees.

Kiev has been seeking security guarantees from the United States as part of the agreement, but Trump's idea is a return on US aid to Kiev during the war.

Zelensky said in Kiev, "This agreement may achieve great success, or it may quietly pass. Great success depends on our dialogue with President Trump

He said that if the United States becomes the provider of security guarantees for Ukraine, it will be a success. Ukraine hopes to be protected from future Russian attacks after reaching a peace agreement.

Russia and the United States said on Wednesday that their diplomats would hold talks in Istanbul, Türkiye, on Thursday, aimed at resuming their diplomatic missions, which was seen as a step towards ending the war in Ukraine.

The background of this meeting is that the Trump administration in the United States has abandoned former President Biden's policy of isolating Russia due to the Russia Ukraine war, and instead focused on restoring relations with Moscow and ending the three-year war with Kiev.

In terms of the international trade situation, Trump opened up another front in his attack on global trade norms on Tuesday, ordering an investigation into the possibility of imposing new tariffs on imported copper to rebuild the country's crucial metal production for electric vehicles, military hardware, power grids, and many consumer goods.

Kelvin Wong, Senior Market Analyst for OANDA Asia Pacific, stated that Trump's tariff concerns have led to a lack of consumer confidence in the US economy, providing support for gold.

There are further signs that Americans are increasingly worried about the potential negative impact of Trump's policy. In February, American consumer confidence deteriorated at the fastest rate in three and a half years, while inflation expectations soared in 12 months.

Due to high mortgage interest rates, potential homebuyers are deterred, and the sales of newly built single family homes in the United States in January fell more than expected. This is the latest sign of a slowdown in the real estate market and overall economic activity in the early first quarter.

The significant 10.5% drop in new home sales released by the US Department of Commerce on Wednesday may also reflect the impact of blizzards and extreme cold weather in most parts of the United States last month. Prior to this report, this month's data showed a decline in retail sales and a cooling trend in employment growth in January.

Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin said, "It's difficult to make significant changes to monetary policy under this uncertainty

The yield of US treasury bond bonds fell after rising for most of the session on Wednesday. The yield of US 10-year treasury bond fell 4.9 basis points to 4.258%. The yield of two-year US treasury bond bonds, which usually changes in line with interest rate expectations, fell 1.6 basis points to 4.08%. This means that the opportunity cost of holding gold decreases, providing support for oil prices.

Market participants are waiting for the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation indicator - the US Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Price Report - to understand the Fed's interest rate cut path and monetary policy. The report will be released on Friday.

Tim Waterer, Chief Market Analyst at KCM Trade, said, "If the data confirms the potential concern of inflation rising again, the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut expectations may be further suppressed

According to CME's FedWatch tool, the highest probability of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates by 25 basis points for the first time occurs at the Federal Reserve meeting in June, with a probability of 53%. On Wednesday afternoon, the probability of a second interest rate cut is highest at the September meeting, at 37%.

On this trading day, the changes in the number of initial jobless claims in the United States, the monthly rate of durable goods orders in January, and the revised GDP for the fourth quarter of the United States will be released,; Federal Reserve Presidents Schmid, Hammack, and Huck will deliver speeches on economic issues; G20 finance ministers and central bank governors will hold a meeting, and British Prime Minister Stammer will meet with US President Trump. Investors need to pay close attention.