Gold (GC=F) futures opened at $4,371 per ounce on Tuesday, up 0.8% from Monday’s close of $4,336.40. The price of gold went as high as $4,393.60 in early trading.
Rare earth minerals have been a key leverage point in the U.S.-China trade war. The minerals are used to make computer chips, and China produces more than two-thirds of the world’s supply. China recently expanded its export restrictions on the essential minerals, prompting President Trump to fire back with new tariff threats. On Monday, Trump signed a deal with Australia to get rare earths into the U.S., subverting China’s control. Domestic steel company Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) also announced plans to excavate the material, but the timeline is uncertain.
These developments may fuel more tensions between the U.S. and China — tensions that have supported higher demand for gold.
The opening price of gold futures on Tuesday is up 0.8% from Monday’s close of $4,336.40 per ounce. Tuesday’s opening price is up 5.8% from the opening price of $4,131.70 one week ago on October 14. In the past month, the gold futures price increased 19.5% compared to the opening price of $3,659 on September 19. Over the past year, gold is up 60.6% from the opening price of $2,721.90 on October 21, 2024.
24/7 gold price tracking: Don’t forget you can monitor the current price of gold on Yahoo Finance 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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Learn more: Gold vs. crypto: Which should investors own in debasement trade?
Gold has the same high-level risk as any investment: You could lose money. And as with other investments, a loss on gold can materialize in different ways. Understanding the potential outcomes is the first step to managing your risk when investing in gold.
According to gold experts, would-be gold investors should understand these four risks:
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Price
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Speculation
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Opportunity cost
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Fraud
Today, we’ll focus on the first two: price and speculation.
Learn more: How to invest in gold in 4 steps
There is a price risk for investors who buy gold when the metal is nearing record high prices. “Buying high to hope for short-term higher is a tough strategy,” said Darrell Fletcher, managing director, commodities at Bannockburn Capital Markets.
Despite the high prices, there are positive dynamics in play for the precious metal. Fletcher pointed out that gold is recovering from decades of low prices, and it’s an increasingly popular diversification asset for central banks and individual investors.
The right expectations, a long timeline, and an appropriate allocation can limit your pricing risk. “Gold should not be seen as a driver of supercharged returns — it’s there to act primarily as a stabilizer in a diversified portfolio,” explained Alex Tsepaev, chief strategy officer of B2PRIME Group.
If you are interested in learning more about gold’s historical value, Yahoo Finance has been tracking the historical price of gold since 2000.
Thomas Winmill, portfolio manager at Midas Funds, encourages investors to view positions in gold bullion, coins, and ETFs as speculative. Gold is a commodity, and “commodity prices are dependent on macroeconomic, political, industrial, and financial factors that are unpredictable, and in some cases, unknowable.”
Despite its recent performance, gold is an unpredictable asset. Keeping that in mind when making trading decisions could protect you from over-exposure and unrealistic expectations.
Learn more: Thinking of buying gold? Here’s what investors should watch for.
Whether you’re tracking the price of gold since last month or last year, the price-of-gold chart below shows the precious metal’s steady upward climb in value.
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