The price of gold just hit a record $3,500 per ounce. Here are 2 reasons why
As any investor will tell you, the past month has been absolutely brutal when it comes to the markets. In the past 30 days alone, the Nasdaq is down 9.5%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 7.8%, and the S&P 500 is down 7.8%.
But in the same period, one asset has surged: gold.
As of the time of this writing, the price of an ounce of gold has surged over the past 30 days by a remarkable 14.4%. And gold isn’t just surging—it’s hitting all-time highs.
This morning, gold peaked above $3,506 per ounce—a record for the precious metal. As of the time of this writing, the commodity has pulled back slightly to around $3,453 an ounce, according to Yahoo Finance data.
However, even that price is still striking. That’s nearly $800 an ounce higher than gold was at the beginning of 2025. Since then, the metal has surged 32%.
Gold’s biggest jump has happened in the past five days alone. During that period, it has surged 7.78% But why?
Gold is a historic safe haven during chaotic economic times
When the economy is in turmoil or investors fear an economic downturn is coming, they tend to park their money in what are known as economic “safe havens”—assets that have historically been less likely to decrease in value during greater economic downturns.
As Investopedia notes, historic safe havens include cash; some currencies like the Swiss franc, the U.S. dollar and Japanese yen; U.S. Treasury bills; and precious metals, most notably, gold.
However, investors of late seem to feel that some of these historic safe havens—the U.S. dollar in particular—aren’t as reliable now as in past times. Instead, they seem to be throwing their money into gold, hence the recent rapid surge in price.
As for why investors are turning to safe havens—and sending gold surging in recent weeks—it mainly comes down to two President Trump-related reasons, notes the Wall Street Journal.
Trump’s chaotic tariffs
The first reason is no surprise. Ever since Trump announced his new chaotic “Liberation Day” tariff policies on April 2, investor confidence has plummeted as the tariffs—and their implementation—have spread uncertainty throughout the economy and business world.
While many of the tariffs are now paused for 90 days, the ones Trump levied against China are still active, as are China’s retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. These tariffs mean that Americans are paying more for many common goods, and they are impacting the volume of goods that American businesses export to customers in China.
And given the Trump administration’s chaotic implementation of the tariffs, its mixed messaging surrounding them, and the lingering uncertainty of whether deals can actually be reached with other nations before the 90-day pause expires, people are beginning to lose faith in the U.S. economy, and recession fears are rising.
If a full-blown recession does hit, it’s likely stocks and other assets may continue to fall, which is why many investors are now seeking safe havens like gold.
Trump’s attacks on Fed Chairman Jerome Powell
But maybe even worse than Trump’s chaotic tariffs is his recent and increasing attacks on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Trump wants Powell, who oversees America’s independent central bank, the Federal Reserve, to lower interest rates.
The reason Trump wants power to do this is that Trump’s tariffs have pummeled the stock markets and consumer confidence. When the Federal Reserve chooses to lower interest rates, the stock markets generally rise and consumer spending increases, as MSNBC points out. That’s because it’s cheaper to borrow money for things like homes and cars. It can also lower credit-card interest rates, further boosting spending.
But Powell has so far refused to acquiesce to Trump’s demands—and for good reason. While lower rates can help the economy in the short term, they can have a negative impact in the long term by giving it a temporary artificial boost. As MSNBC notes, if rates are already lowered, and things do get worse with the economy in the future, the Federal Reserve will have one less tool in its arsenal to help fight the economic downturn because it has already lowered rates.
But Trump seems to care more about the short term. That’s likely why he has increased his attacks on Powell, whom he has threatened to fire, which most legal experts agree the president can’t do anyway.
As a matter of fact, the central banks of most countries, including the United States, are set up to be independent of the government precisely so that leaders can’t pressure the banks to do something that is beneficial for political reasons instead of being rational for economic ones.
Still, Trump’s very public beef with Powell is enough to make some investors leery that Trump may indeed be willing to undermine what is seen as a critical pillar of the U.S.’s economic credibility. That beef is leading to uncertainty, which is leading to some investors now looking for more stable, safe-haven assets like gold.