50m ago14.57 AEDT
Gold’s historic milestone amid Trump chaos
Patrick Commins
Patrick Commins
Gold has jumped above $US5,000 an ounce for the first time, as investors continue to pile into the precious metal amid fears Donald Trump’s chaotic policies will trigger a financial market meltdown.
This morning’s historic milestone comes as Trump threatened Canada with 100% tariffs if America’s northern neighbour “makes a deal with China”, and after Democrats warned of another government shutdown.
The price of gold, which last traded at $US5,074 an ounce, according to Bloomberg, has doubled over the past two years.
It jumped by an extraordinary 72% last year – the biggest rise since 1979 – and is already up 17% in 2026 as investors seek out the traditional safe haven in an increasingly volatile environment.
Last week, silver topped $100 an ounce for the first time, and for similar reasons.
Driving demand for gold is the so-called “debasement trade”: fears that the world’s number one currency, the US dollar, will eventually collapse under the weight of America’s huge debt and deficits.
Evidence of this “sell America” trade came last week when Danish pension fund AkademikerPension announced it would sell its holding of US bonds, blaming weak US government finances.
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