The price of gold continues to rise, with the gleaming metal again catching investor attention around the world over recent weeks. But what’s fuelling the new “gold rush?”
The value of gold has been rising since the pandemic, and especially within the past few months, when it set a new record on several occasions.
On Oct. 7, the main gold futures price went above US$4,000 an ounce for the first time, and reached an all-time high of roughly $4,380 on Oct. 20. As of publication, the price was hovering around $4,130.
So far in 2025, gold futures have grown in value by about 60 per cent and that may leave some wondering if now is the time to buy.
“There is something of a gold rush on at the moment. Gold, in the fall of 2025, is the best performing asset class of the year by far, alongside other precious metals like silver and platinum,” says Adrian Ash, director of research at gold buying and selling platform BullionVault.
“A physical lump of rare precious metal acts as currency that doesn’t rely on any government survival or any regime or jurisdictions or legal permanence and continuity for it to hold value.”
Ash goes on to say gold is “the ultimate currency in a crisis,” and how in recent weeks, “we are looking at a real kind of ‘crisis’ sized move into gold by investors.”
So what’s driving the value right now?
Supply and demand is one of the main factors that drive the price of gold, meaning the more that buyers want to purchase the metal for any reason, the higher its price becomes.
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Gold’s value is measured most often based on the price it is expected to reach within the next few months — known as gold futures. This factors in levels of supply and demand based on current trends, as well as geopolitical risks, and economic gauges, including inflation.
“With gold, you’re essentially speculating that the price will go up long-term. Trying to determine that is a bit of a guessing game because we don’t know if demand will go up with time — it could be a short-term trend that changes,” says Devin Cattelan, a portfolio manager with Verecan Capital Management.
“Gold isn’t something that safe and stable as an investment because it does fluctuate over time.”
Historically, Ash says gold tends to do better in more uncertain and volatile economic times because it isn’t as exposed to economic risks, while stronger periods for the global economy may encourage investors to purchase stocks, real estate and other assets and drive the value of gold down.
This is because, in theory, gold will hold its value better during economic downturns like a recession, or geopolitical events like a war — or a pandemic.
“The pandemic was a very hot period for gold. Gold really came into its own as a store of value when the global economy shut down,” Ash says.
Ash also says that although gold has been on a steady rise over the past few decades, the recent spike in prices dates back mostly to last fall.
“The trade tariffs obviously have really spooked everybody,” Ash says.
During the United States election in 2024, then-Republican candidate Donald Trump campaigned on using tariff policies to spur economic growth in the U.S.
In October 2024, gold was worth roughly US$2,700.
Ash believes that once Trump won the election and became president, investors prioritized buying gold because of the anticipated negative impacts of tariffs on global economies, which meant an increase in demand and rising prices.
In recent weeks, that volatility dialled up, and so too have prices for gold.
“What you’ve got at the moment is you’ve got fresh uncertainty around Trump’s policy towards China, and flip-flopping on his support for Ukraine. At the same time, domestically with what’s happening with ICE and the National Guard, with John Bolton being arraigned, I think a lot of people are very spooked by all of this, so money managers, asset managers have made a real return to gold,” Ash says.
But trying to jump on the gold rush could come with risks, experts caution.
“There were a lot of people who recommended buying marijuana stocks when marijuana was becoming legal (in Canada). The industry took off, but then reversed course shortly after, and a lot of people lost a lot of money in that space,” Cattelan says.
“Time and time again, we see trends that emerge and evolve, and some people can make money if they get in and get out at the right time. But there are a lot of people who lose money because they get in at the wrong moment.”
Although gold as an investment appears to be a solid choice now, the gains may not be sustainable and can change without warning, Ash says.
“It’s very difficult to see this current rate of acceleration continuing much longer,” he says.
“I would suggest, don’t be rushed by the price action right now. I think it would be worth taking a breath. FOMO is not a good reason to invest.”
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