Gold surged past the $5,000 per ounce mark today, trading at $5,040 as of 10 a.m. Eastern Time, a $48 increase from yesterday and a substantial $2,105 jump compared to the same time last year. The precious metal’s rally is being fueled by escalating geopolitical tensions and a reassessment of its role as a safe-haven asset.
The increase comes as President Trump issued a 10-15 day ultimatum regarding Iran’s nuclear program, injecting urgency into safe-haven positioning, even as the dollar remains relatively strong. This decoupling of gold’s performance from traditional inverse dollar dynamics is a key indicator of its shifting role in the market, according to analysts at USAGold.
Silver too experienced significant gains, trading at $80.62 per ounce, up $2.99 – a performance that outpaced gold’s increase. This convergence of industrial and monetary demand has compressed the gold/silver ratio to 62.8, signaling increased interest in silver as well.
Central bank purchasing continues to be a major driver of gold’s price. Goldman Sachs has confirmed a re-acceleration of sovereign accumulation in 2026, following three consecutive years of annual purchases exceeding 1,200 tonnes. This sustained demand from central banks underscores gold’s increasing importance as a reserve asset.
The spot gold price, which reflects the immediate purchase or sale price in over-the-counter transactions, is a key metric for investors. A higher spot price indicates stronger demand. The market is currently not in contango, where future prices exceed spot prices due to storage costs, nor is it in backwardation, where future prices are lower. Still, prospective investors should be prepared for price volatility.
The price spread, the difference between the ask price (to buy) and the bid price (to sell), is another important factor. A narrower spread indicates a more liquid market and suggests rising demand.
Investors have several options for acquiring gold, including physical gold in the form of bars and coins, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and futures contracts. James Taska, a fee-based financial advisor, notes that ETFs offer easier rebalancing for client portfolios, while the spread when buying or selling physical gold can be variable and wide.
While gold has historically provided portfolio stability during turbulent markets, it has not consistently outperformed equities. From 1971 to 2024, the stock market’s average annual return was 10.7%, compared to gold’s 7.9%.
Current precious metals prices also show platinum trading at $1,715 per ounce and palladium at $2,121 per ounce. While gold is generally less volatile than silver, which is sensitive to economic shifts due to its industrial uses, platinum and palladium also offer diversification but tend to fluctuate more than gold.
