The price of gold has shot to another new record high as investors seek a safe haven for their money in the wake of Donald Trump’s pursuit of Greenland and the threat of tariffs.
Gold only reached $4,000 per troy ounce – the official measure of gold and the equivalent of 31g, for the first time back in October, yet it is already within sight of the $5,000 milestone after rising more than 12 per cent since the start of the year and just over 2 per cent to $4,900 on Wednesday.
While the US president has said “there can be no going back” over his attempts to bully Denmark out of their territory, he is due to meet leaders from fellow Nato countries at Davos on Wednesday to discuss the matter, which has rocked relations with his Western allies.
Trump has instilled a 10 per cent tariff on nations moving against him on the subject, but despite stock markets reacting wildly – the S&P 500, America’s main index of public companies, dropped more than 2 per cent on Tuesday – there has been no immediate retaliation from the EU in imposing tariffs in return.
Gold is typically seen as a safe investment in volatile times, though its recent pace of price inflation is unusual – up 77 per cent across the past year.
However, gold isn’t the only metal in investors’ eyes at present. Silver has even outperformed its more expensive cousin, with March futures priced at $95 – representing a 22 per cent climb in 2026 already and totalling more than a 200 per cent increase across one year.
“The hope will be that some form of compromise can be found as Donald Trump meets with European leaders and speaks at the World Economic Forum in Davos,” said AJ Bell’s head of markets, Dan Coatsworth.
“A fresh record high for gold is a reminder of continuing nervousness as people fret over the future of a Nato alliance which has been a key part of the Western world’s firmament in the post-war period.”
Meanwhile, Lukman Otunuga, a market analyst at broker FXTM, served as a reminder that the price in any market has more than one factor at play – and suggested both gold and silver could yet go higher.
“The cocktail of tariff threats, political uncertainty in Japan, and lingering inflation risks has reignited a risk-off tone across global markets,” he said. “While equities remain vulnerable, precious metals are thriving as investors seek protection from policy uncertainty and geopolitical shocks.
“Gold and silver still have room to run, especially if inflation data or geopolitical developments add fuel to the fire.”
In the stock markets, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 are both projected to open slightly up this afternoon when trading begins in the US, but not enough to claw back the lost ground this week.
In the UK, the FTSE 100 has been mostly flat today and is down less than 0.1 per cent at the time of writing, while remaining up through January to the tune of almost 1.9 per cent – in contrast to the main US index, which is down 0.7 per cent. The tech-focused Nasdaq is down 1.2 per cent for 2026 so far.
