The price of gold soared towards $4,300 for the first time yesterday – fuelling speculation it could rise as high as $5,000.
Bullion hit $4,295 an ounce, taking gains for the year to 64 per cent, while silver also hit a record $54 an ounce. Analysts suggested gold could be on the way to $5,000 as nervous investors look for somewhere safe to park their cash while others pile in, in what has been described as ‘gold-plated FOMO’ – or ‘fear of missing out’.
‘Another day, another record high,’ said David Morrison, analyst at Trade Nation. ‘Gold’s unbroken rally showed no signs of fatigue as prices pushed to yet another all-time high. The calls for the rally to head towards $5,000 are growing louder. Silver has had its own parabolic rise.’
The rally in precious metals has underlined gold’s status as a haven in times of trouble. While central banks are snapping up bullion as they become less reliant on a weakening US dollar, institutions worried about inflation, government spending and debt, and geopolitical tensions have also piled in.
There has also been a sharp increase in retail investors snapping up gold to cash in on the dizzying price rises of recent months.
This has included growing demand for gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) which are traded on the stock market and track the movement of bullion, making the metal more easily accessible to investors.
‘Sentiment remains bullish as rallies are expected to continue in 2026 aided by official sector buying and institutional demand for gold as a diversifier,’ said HSBC analysts in a research note.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs have raised their price target for gold to $4,900 an ounce by the end of 2026. Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at investing and trading platform IG, noted gold has clocked record highs on consecutive days this week ‘defying all expectations of a pullback’.
