$5,000 Breakthrough! Investors Flee Dollar & Bonds
Gold prices broke through $5,000 per ounce, setting a new record early in the week, as investors flocked to safe havens amid global geopolitical and economic uncertainty. This surge also lifted silver and other precious metals to record highs.
Gold's rise was driven by a combination of risk-off sentiment and a weakening dollar. Spot gold briefly touched a record high of around $5,092.71 and was trading around $5,081.18 early Monday, while US gold futures also rose more than 2%.
One trigger for the risk-off was growing market concerns about unpredictable US policy moves, including escalating tariffs. Trump threatened to impose 100% tariffs on Canadian goods if Canada reached a trade deal with China, raising the risk of a wider trade war for the market.
Canada responded quickly. Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada was honoring its commitments in the USMCA and had no intention of pursuing a free trade agreement with China, although Ottawa continued to work to resolve some of its recent trade issues with Beijing.
From a currency perspective, gold also benefited from a weaker dollar, making the precious metal cheaper for buyers outside the US. Reuters noted that the dollar's weakness was also influenced by a stronger yen and investor caution ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting.
Behind the scenes, "structural" demand for gold also remained strong. Reuters highlighted support from central bank purchases (including China, which reportedly added reserves for the 14th consecutive month) and increased inflows into gold ETFs—factors that kept the rally going despite already very high prices.
The rally wasn't limited to gold. Silver also surged sharply and hit a new record, with Reuters noting that silver briefly rose around 5.7% to $108.91, while platinum and palladium also strengthened. This indicates that safe-haven flows are sweeping across almost the entire precious metals complex.
Looking ahead, market participants will be monitoring two things: whether policy tensions (tariffs and geopolitics) continue to heat up, and what the Fed signals at this week's interest rate decision. In current conditions, volatility can be high—prices may correct momentarily due to profit-taking, but safe-haven flows tend to persist as long as global uncertainty persists.
Source: Newsmaker.id
