Gold just hit a fresh all-time high with tariff worries sending investors scrambling for safety
Getty Images; Jenny Chang-Rodriguez/BI
- Gold reached a fresh high over over $3,100 an ounce on Monday.
- The safe haven is gaining on tariff fears, falling yields, and a declining dollar.
- Goldman expects the gold prices to reach $3,300 an ounce by year-end.
Tariff anxiety is crushing risk appetite and sending gold to fresh highs amid the flight to safety.
The yellow metal surged to $3,127 per ounce Monday morning, up $100 in less than a week. Tariff-driven economic fears have made it one of this year's hottest commodities, having gained 18.3% so far in 2025.
The metal gained momentum amid heavy losses in US stocks on Monday as traders brace for the April 2 tariff date set by Trump.
Investors worry that the sweeping duties could escalate a global trade war, battering US markets and the economy. The tariffs have been the chief culprit behind the stock market's correction this year, and explain why Treasury yields have dropped to the 4% range.
But the stock market's pain is gold's gain this year.
"While stocks falter, gold continues to shine. The metal's status as a safe haven has been reinforced by tightening financial conditions, falling bond yields, and a weaker US dollar," wrote Daniela Sabin Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com. "As foreign demand for US assets drops due to lower yields, the environment becomes increasingly supportive for non-yielding assets like gold."
At $3,100 an ounce, the metal trades above the year-end forecasts made at the end of 2024.
But since President Donald Trump took office, banks such as Goldman Sachs have reassessed expectations. As of last week, the bank now sees $3,300 as the likely outcome, as tariff fears have reshaped gold flows and a pick up in central bank demand.
"While ETF flows generally track Fed policy rates, history shows they can overshoot during extended periods of macro uncertainty -- such as during the Covid-19 pandemic," the bank wrote Wednesday.
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While technical indicators suggest gold is currently overbought, broader bullish momentum should overcome any short-term consolidation, Hathorn said. The next level of resistance for the metal will be at $3,200.
But some are not so sure the metal can keep outperforming. Morningstar analyst Jon Mills told Business Insider that a number of headwinds will drag gold to $1,820 in the coming years.
For now, tariff jitters are also moving other metals. Copper, which reached a nine-month high recently, is in retreat ahead of the April levies. According to ING, industrial metals suffer if tariffs slow global growth.