Anytime you see headlines like “Gold is soaring” or “Investors are piling into gold,” it’s rarely because the economy is humming along smoothly. It’s usually a signal that the market’s having a bit of a meltdown. And historically, that’s exactly how it plays out. Gold tends to rally when things are... not okay. Think 1929, 1987, 2000, 2008. Even in 2020, during the brief but chaotic COVID crash, investors rushed toward gold like it was the last safe haven on earth.
Now here we are in 2025, just four months into Trump’s second term, and what’s back on top? Not tech stocks. Not AI plays. Not even crypto. You guessed it… gold… the ancient, dusty, prepper-approved hedge that only shows up on the leaderboard when everything else starts looking like a bad idea.
Gold just hit a fresh record at $3,384 an ounce, with futures breaking $3,400. At the same time, the S&P 500 is down 10% on the year (but sure, keep dollar-cost averaging into that dip). And just to round things out, the U.S. dollar has dropped to a three-year low, making gold even more appealing to overseas investors who suddenly have a discount ticket to the panic parade.
Of course, geopolitical risk is also spiking thanks to Trump dusting off the tariff machine and started hitting dozens of countries with “reciprocal tariffs.” And if that didn’t make markets uneasy enough, he’s also reignited his public feud with Fed Chair Jerome Powell (like we talked about last week). Reports say he’s even exploring if he can fire him.
So naturally, investors are doing what they’ve done for centuries when the outlook turns ugly: buying gold. It’s up nearly 30% since the start of the year and just posted its biggest one-day gain since April 2020… right in the middle of the COVID market panic (so yeah, totally normal).
The demand spike isn’t subtle. SPDR Gold Shares, the biggest gold ETF, just crossed $100 billion in intraday assets for the first time ever. Holdings in gold-backed ETFs have risen for 12 straight weeks… the longest run since 2022 (when the market tanked 20%). And central banks, especially in China, India, and Russia, are hoarding gold at record levels, snapping up over 1,000 metric tons a year (which, if you’re wondering, is not exactly a vote of confidence in the U.S. dollar).
Institutional investors are leaning in too. According to Bank of America’s April Fund Manager Survey, 42% of fund managers now believe gold will be the best-performing asset of 2025… up from 23% just a month earlier. That’s a massive shift in sentiment (but no big deal, just half the world’s capital suddenly moving to a shiny metal dug out of caves). And in case you need another warning sign for the stock market: fund managers now say the “long gold” trade is more crowded than the once-dominant “long Magnificent Seven.” When everyone starts swapping Nvidia for a coin your Grandpa bought on a late night infomercial, you might want to ask why.
Beyond the headlines, the underlying trend is clear… confidence in the U.S. dollar is slipping. After the U.S. froze Russia’s dollar-based reserves following the invasion of Ukraine, central banks started asking themselves whether it made sense to keep stacking dollars. The answer, apparently, was “nope.” They’ve been steadily rotating into gold as a backup plan… just in case the U.S. decides to wield financial leverage again. That slow-motion shift has picked up speed as American trade policy turns more unpredictable (okay, chaotic), and inflation expectations continue to creep upward.
As far as Bitcoin goes, it’s not exactly inspiring confidence either. It’s down more than 6% this year while gold is up 16%, and the once-tight correlation between the two has finally broken. As Bitcoin stumbles, gold is reasserting itself as the go-to hedge. It may not be sexy, but it’s stable… and right now, that’s more appealing than another digital asset.
PS: The headlines are full of panic… inflation’s too high, the Fed’s asleep at the wheel, and Trump never fails to kill any market momentum with more tariffs. On the surface, it looks like the market’s barely breathing.
But underneath all that noise?
We’re seeing some of the fastest stock moves in years… especially in the small-cap space, where low float and high tension can trigger a 100% pop before lunch. Some are up 200% in under 24 hours… and nobody on CNBC is talking about them.
Except us.
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Stock.News does not have positions in companies mentioned.
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