The price of gold reached a historic milestone on Monday, January 20, 2026, climbing above $5,000 per ounce for the first time ever, as investors flocked to the traditional safe-haven asset amid escalating geopolitical risks, persistent inflation concerns, and uncertainty over global economic growth.
Spot gold peaked at $5,037.40 per ounce during early trading, surpassing the previous all-time high of $4,899 set in December 2025. By close of business in London, the precious metal settled at $5,012 per ounce, up 2.8% on the day the largest single-day percentage gain in over a year.
Heightened Geopolitical Tensions: Renewed escalation in the Middle East, ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, and rising instability in the South China Sea have driven safe-haven demand.
Global Economic Uncertainty: Fears of a slowdown in major economies (U.S., China, Eurozone), coupled with sticky inflation and expectations of slower-than-anticipated interest rate cuts by central banks.
Currency Weakness: Continued depreciation of the U.S. dollar against major currencies, making dollar-denominated gold more attractive to foreign buyers.
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Central Bank Buying: Record purchases by central banks (led by China, India, Turkey, and Poland) in 2025 continued into the new year, supporting prices.
Investor Flows: Massive inflows into gold ETFs, particularly in the U.S. and Europe, as hedge funds and institutional investors repositioned portfolios away from equities.
Analysts from Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and UBS have revised their 2026 year-end forecasts upward, with some now projecting gold could reach $5,500–$6,000 per ounce by the end of the year if tensions persist and monetary policy remains accommodative.
“Gold is behaving exactly as it should in times of uncertainty it’s a hedge against chaos, inflation, and currency debasement,” said JPMorgan commodities strategist Natasha Kaneva. “This is not a bubble; it’s a structural shift in how the world views safe assets.”
Silver also hit multi-year highs, trading above $72 per ounce, while platinum and palladium saw modest gains.
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The rally has sparked renewed retail investor interest in gold bars, coins, and ETFs, with dealers in Lagos, Dubai, and New York reporting record demand in recent weeks.
This historic breakthrough comes less than 18 months after gold first crossed $3,000 per ounce in mid-2024, reflecting the metal’s strongest multi-year bull run since the 1970s–1980s.
By Ogungbayi Beedee Adeyemi
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