Gold Shines Amid Uncertainty: Notches Best Week Since 2020 as Investor Confidence Wavers

While markets tumble and global tensions rise, gold continues its relentless climb to unprecedented heights. The precious metal hit an eye-watering $3,232.69 per ounce as of April 11, 2025, marking its strongest three-day performance since March 2020. That’s when the world was falling apart during the early pandemic. Sound familiar?

Gold prices have skyrocketed more than 40% since January 2024. No small feat. Multiple all-time highs were shattered throughout 2024, with a notable peak above $2,800 last September before settling around $2,620 later in the year. But that was just the beginning. The precious metal reached its historic high price at Rs287,900 per tola in Pakistan during the peak of market optimism.

Gold’s meteoric rise isn’t just impressive—it’s rewriting the record books with each passing month.

Central banks can’t get enough of the shiny stuff. China, India, and even the United States have been on buying sprees. Who needs digital currencies when you can hoard actual gold? The Russia-Ukraine conflict prompted many countries to rethink their reserves after witnessing asset freezes. Nothing says “I don’t trust you” quite like stockpiling gold. Average monthly institutional demand rose dramatically from 17 tonnes to 108 tonnes in December 2023.

Economic uncertainty isn’t helping matters. Or rather, it is—if you’re invested in gold. Declining global interest rates have made non-yielding assets like gold suddenly attractive again. Funny how that works. Add in concerns about global tariffs, recession fears, and currency fluctuations, and you’ve got the perfect storm for gold prices. This trajectory aligns with historical patterns when gold reached $615 per ounce in 1980 during similar inflation and geopolitical tensions.

Looking ahead, predictions vary wildly. Goldman Sachs thinks prices could rise another 8% to $3,100 per ounce by year’s end. In their bullish scenario, $3,300 isn’t out of reach. Bloomberg’s more conservative estimate ranges from $1,709.47 to $2,727.94. Take your pick. ING points to China and India as key demand drivers going forward.

Investors aren’t sitting idle. Gold ETFs are seeing increased purchases, and net long positions in futures markets remain high. Investors looking for exposure are increasingly turning to gold ETFs like SGOL, IAU, and UGL. Even regular folks are getting in on the action. When everything else looks shaky, gold looks solid. It’s up 84% since 2015, crushing the World Bank’s 2023 estimate of $1,900 per ounce. This recent surge continues the impressive pattern seen in 2020 when gold experienced a 24.43% increase during another period of global uncertainty.

History tells us gold thrives in chaos. The 2008 financial crisis, COVID-19, and now—whatever we’re calling this mess. Unlike Bitcoin, gold actually performs better when things get weird. Imagine that.

Still, risks remain. Speculators could decide to take profits at any moment. But with wars, inflation, and banking concerns all swirling, gold’s appeal isn’t fading anytime soon. Uncertainty reigns, and gold is king.