Gold prices are at record highs. Learn what’s driving the surge, whether to buy coins, bars or a Gold IRA and how to buy gold safely in 2026.

With gold prices nearing $4,500, this allocation strategy could protect your portfolio and prime it for growth.

Silver prices on Monday suffered their largest single-day drop in almost five years, before rebounding nearly 8% in midday trading on Tuesday. Some other precious metals, including gold, rode a similar rollercoaster.

Spot gold prices hit an all-time high of around $4,560 per troy ounce last Friday before sliding more than 4% on Monday, as exchange operator CME Group raised its margin requirements for precious metals contracts and investors booked profits. Gold rebounded on Tuesday, trading recently at around $4,400.

Gold and silver prices are about to record their biggest annual gains since 1979. Rising sharply in late April after President Donald Trump’s rocky global tariff rollout, the price of gold has soared nearly 70% in 2025. Silver, up more than 30% in December alone, has surged more than 160% this year.

Gold had a stupendous 2025, the price of an ounce reaching $3,000 for the first time in March, and then topping $4,000 in October. It closed 2025 at more than $4,300 an ounce, 66% higher than the price at the start of the year.

Research from Duke University suggests that the introduction of gold exchange-traded funds permanently pushed up the price of gold.

Mundada pointed to expectations of further Federal Reserve interest rate cuts in 2026, geopolitical turmoil, and de-dollarization as central banks diversify reserves away from the U.S. dollar—"We are transitioning into a new, multipolar monetary era," Mundada wrote.

Higher-than-expected nominal GDP growth rates in the US & abroad can generate higher earnings growth; therefore, another strong performance for the S&P 500 in 2026. Gold prices saw a roughly 16x increase so far this century, greatly beating the S&P 500 index, which saw a roughly 5x increase for the same period.

Silver prices notched a fresh record Tuesday, ending above $80 a troy ounce for the first time. The metal's dizzying 177% climb since the start of 2025—including 15% already this ye

The Trump administration launched a major military attack on Venezuela, bombing facilities and capturing leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife. President Donald Trump said the U.S. will temporarily “run” Venezuela and work to tap the country’s massive oil reserves.