Five reasons why gold is surging toward $5,000 an ounce

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Investors have plenty to worry about lately. Whether it is lower bond yields, expensive stocks or President Trump’s tariffs, their response has been the same: buy gold.

Just three months after hitting the once-unthinkable price of $4,000 a troy ounce, gold prices are on the cusp of $5,000. Futures rose more than 2% to trade above $4,800 Wednesday morning. They climbed 3.7% to end at record $4,759.60 an ounce Tuesday, rallying on Trump’s threats to slap additional tariffs on Europe in his quest for Greenland and heightened concern about the independence of the Federal Reserve.

Tuesday’s one-day gain of $171.20 was the largest on record. Here are five factors propelling the market: Among the most bullish gold buyers are those worried about the strength of the U.S. dollar and other major currencies.

They have snapped up the precious metal as a store of value that they hope will withstand economic shocks. Lately Trump has given them plenty to be cautious about. Just this month he authorized an incursion into Venezuela to depose strongman Nicolás Maduro, ramped up his pressure campaign on Fed Chair Jerome Powell to reduce interest rates with a Justice Department probe and has threatened an additional layer of tariffs on European allies if they don’t oblige his pursuit of Greenland.

Known on Wall Street as the debasement trade, the strategy is driven by fear that governments’ inability to tame inflation or slash debt will erode the value of currencies that underpin the global financial system. In early 2025, investors rushed to gold while Trump’s barrage of tariffs contributed to the dollar’s worst first half in 50 years. After Powell in August signaled that the central bank would begin