Gold made history on Friday by reaching the $3,000 level for the first time, as investors continue to pile into the safe-haven metal to seek cover from economic uncertainty sparked by Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Spot gold hit its new record of $3,004.71 per ounce during the morning trading hours, before pulling back to its near-opening price of $2,983.35 by 10:40 a.m. ET.

Gold contracts in New York are just $1 short of the $3,000 mark, having hit a high of $3,017 an ounce earlier.

Gold shines through gloom

Gold’s new milestone highlights the metal’s centuries-old role as a store of value in turbulent times and as a gauge of fear in markets. It breached the $1,000 mark in the aftermath of the financial crisis, passed $2,000 during the covid pandemic, and now crossed $3,000 during an unprecedented trade war.

In the last 25 years, bullion has risen ten-fold, outperforming even the S&P 500, which quadrupled over the same period.

“Gold is an asset that is able to preserve value under the biggest variety of macroeconomic dislocations that we have seen,” said Thomas Kertsos, co-portfolio manager at First Eagle Investment Management, in a Bloomberg note.

“We’ve seen that over centuries gold has been able to — despite the volatility — always mean-revert and always maintain its purchasing power, all while providing significant liquidity.”

Faster than expected

Gold’s rally to $3,000 also came faster than the mainstream forecasters had predicted. Over the past year, analysts have ratcheted up their gold predictions after the price moved decisively through the key milestones of $2,000 and $2,500.

Now, some have the next major marker in sight.

“For it to hit $3,500/oz., investment demand would need to rise 10%,” Bank of America analysts led by Michael Widmer said in a note earlier this week. “That’s a lot, but not impossible.”

Before that, Goldman Sachs had already raised its gold price forecast to $3,100 by the end of 2025.

Gold bulls prevail

The aggressiveness and unpredictability of the new US government have been the most important driver of gold this year.

So far in 2025, bullion has risen by 14% despite the higher interest rates and a strong US dollar, which typically would pull investors away from the safe-haven asset. Still, these headwinds were no match for the geopolitical turmoil and economic stress exacerbated by the Trump administration’s policies.

“Gold prices raced to a record high with momentum driven by elevated tariff uncertainty and bets on monetary policy easing by the US Federal Reserve,” said analysts from Red Cloud Securities in a note.

The FOMO (fear of missing out) factor may have also played a role, especially as equities have failed to deliver the desired returns for investors this year.

“A lot of investors missed out when gold went through $2,400, $2,500, $2,600. We kept saying: ‘this won’t last, there’ll be a correction and it will consolidate’,” said Philip Newman, founder of consultancy Metals Focus.

“It did nothing of the sort. I think there was a sense that investors don’t want to miss out on $3,000.”

Still, when adjusted for inflation, gold remains a long way off its peak set in 1980, which equates to about $3,800 an ounce now.

Back then, it was a combination of weak economic growth, runaway inflation and growing geopolitical frictions that sent prices soaring, and some analysts believe similar forces will keep gold moving further into uncharted territory in 2025.

Central banks’ role

Also driving the rally are global central banks that have been building up gold inventories to disburden themselves of their reliance on the USD.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, central bank buying has doubled from about 500 tonnes a year to more than 1,000, according to the World Gold Council.

These include China, who America sees as its biggest economic rival. The Asian nation recently picked up its purchases amid record-high prices, and has now grown its gold reserves for four straight months.

Source: mining.com