The emergence of DeepSeek has brought forth a fresh wave of intrigue surrounding China's technological prowess, inviting both domestic and international investors to reinterpret the landscape of global technology. Furthermore, the rippling effects of DeepSeek on American tech stocks have triggered intensified discussions about the long-term dynamics of gold—specifically its movement away from a dollar-centric valuation. This confluence of events suggests a paradigm shift that warrants close scrutiny.

Recent market reports indicate that participants are racing to transport spot gold from London to New York's COMEX division, spurred by concerns over potential tariffs that U.S. President may impose on imported gold. The anticipation of such tariffs has led to a significant surge in international gold prices. On February 3rd, the London spot gold price reached an all-time high of $2,830.49 per ounce, while the COMEX futures saw prices spike to unprecedented levels of $2,872 per ounce.

The chatter around potential U.S. tariffs on gold imports has created ripples in the market.

As of February 4th, during Asian trading sessions, London spot prices hovered around $2,810 per ounce, a figure that reflects a bit of a decline but still follows the record-high points seen the day before. Concurrently, COMEX futures prices were quoted near $2,840 per ounce, a slight correction from their peak of $2,872 per ounce.

According to research from Everbright Futures, several fundamental factors have been driving the uptick in gold prices: firstly, market sentiment pointed towards a sustained trend of increasing monetary easing from the Federal Reserve. Secondly, uncertainties around the U.S. tariff policies projected an unpredictable global economy, creating a fertile ground for investor anxiety and risk-averse behaviors. Lastly, the U.S. President’s previous commitments to swift conflict resolution have dramatically faltered, with geopolitical tensions seeming to intensify rather than resolve, diverging significantly from earlier market expectations. Collectively, these elements reinforce the case for gold as a safe-haven asset.

Noteworthy is the escalation in activity concerning gold imports by the U.S. futures market. Due to fears surrounding the President's tariff intentions, there has been a marked increase in daily spot deliveries of gold on COMEX as January drew to a close. Simultaneously, gold leasing rates in London have surged to their highest levels since 2008, indicating heightened demand.

Market insiders indicate that the frenzy around the President's potential tariff on gold imports has led to a considerable increase in demand within the London spot market, so much so that it's prompted transactions of borrowed gold from the Bank of England. This demand surge has, consequently, triggered impressive highs for both COMEX gold futures and London spot gold prices.

The implications of DeepSeek further amplify gold's trajectory away from a dollar-centric valuation.

In light of the heated discussions surrounding DeepSeek, Lu Zhe, Chief Economist at Dongwu Securities, posits that the impact on American tech stocks fortifies a mid- to long-term narrative against dollar dominance supporting gold.

Lu highlights that the disturbances created by DeepSeek may alter the foundational valuations of heavily concentrated U.S. tech stocks. Looking ahead, the advent of DeepSeek creates challenges for previous stock-buying strategies that operated on the premise of "buying the dips." In a landscape where fresh innovations in AI are sparse, and high valuations escalate, the associated uncertainty and volatility could reshape expectations for tech stock performance in the near future.

In the short term, concerns over tariffs are likely to accentuate volatility in gold prices, with the LME market experiencing a short squeeze that may result in rapid price fluctuations. Looking further, expectations of a potential interest rate cut may see movement towards that possibility by March. A weakened dollar likely would continue to bolster gold's ascent. Over the long term, the upheaval that DeepSeek has caused against U.S. dollar hegemony may just be the tip of the iceberg; de-dollarization is poised to emerge as a formidable underpinning for gold's sustained growth.

Additionally, Goldman Sachs recently released a report emphasizing rising uncertainties in U.S. policy, underscoring the importance of diversifying commodity holdings in investment portfolios. They maintain a bullish stance on both gold and oil while forecasting that gold prices could climb to $3,000 per ounce by the second quarter of 2026.

However, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s data show that as of the week ending January 28th, speculative positions in COMEX gold have notably dwindled, with net long positions decreasing by 3,766 contracts to 230,592 contracts, while net long positions in silver fell to 26,318 contracts—the lowest in three weeks.