Going for the gold haven
NEW YORK As economic uncertainty deepens worldwide gold prices have notched more and more record highs That s because gold sales can rise sharply when anxious investors seek safe havens for parking their money Gold s current rally arrives as U S President Donald Trump continues to announce new tariffs on economic allies and foes alike roiling financial markets and threatening to reignite inflation for families and businesses alike On Tuesday the International Monetary Fund mentioned that outlooks for economies worldwide including the U S have significantly worsened in the wake of Trump s sweeping tariffs and the uncertainty they have created And Trump s up-to-date threats suggesting he can remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell have only put investors more on edge If trends continue analysts say the price of gold could continue to climb into unprecedented territory What s the price of gold in the current era The going price for New York spot gold hit a record per troy ounce the standard for measuring precious metals as of close Monday That s about higher than a year ago On Tuesday gold futures touched a record high over before the yellow metal pared gains and the spot gold price bounced around after p m That spot gold price is up more than since the start of per the evidence firm FactSet By contrast the stock industry has tumbled The benchmark S P is down over this year Why is the price of gold going up A lot of it boils down to uncertainty Interest in buying gold typically spikes when investors become anxious and there s been a lot of economic turmoil in fresh months The heaviest uncertainty lies with Trump s escalating pact wars The president s on-again off-again new levy announcements and retaliatory tariffs from various of the nation s closest traditional allies have created a sense of whiplash for both businesses and consumers who economists say will foot the bill through higher prices Consumer confidence and global economic outlooks have deteriorated as a product On Tuesday the IMF declared that the global financial sector will grow just this year down from its forecast in January of And for the U S specifically the fund expects development will come in at just this year down sharply from its previous forecast of China which at present faces the heaviest levies from the U S is also expected to see weakened improvement Last week Trump also renewed threats suggesting he could remove Powell and has since stepped up his masses criticism of the Fed chair for not cutting interest rates Any attempt to unseat Powell would likely set off a dilemma in global financial markets over fears that a less independent Fed could struggle to keep inflation under control making investors all the more anxious Over the last year analysts have also pointed to strong gold demand from central banks around the world amid other ongoing geopolitical tensions including the wars in Gaza and Ukraine Advocates of investing in gold call it a safe haven arguing the commodity can serve to diversify and balance your commitment portfolio as well as mitigate viable risks down the road Specific also take comfort in buying something tangible that has the expected to increase in value over time But even gold s current rally has seen various volatility The price of spot gold fell for several days following Trump s sweeping Liberation Day announcement on April for example U S stocks jumped in a widespread rally Tuesday The S P climbed The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose points or and the Nasdaq composite gained All three indexes more than made up their big losses from the start of the week
