Commodities traders and %Gold bugs are cheering as the price of bullion trades above $3,000 U.S. an ounce for the very first time.
The spot price of gold is currently at $3,010.40 U.S. an ounce, marking its 12th record high so far in 2025.
Analysts had been anticipating for months that gold would breach the $3,000 U.S. per ounce milestone after rising 11% this year and increasing 27% in 2024.
Many Wall Street firms are now ratcheting up their year-end price targets on gold to $3,500 U.S. an ounce as the precious metal continues to rally.
Marcus Garvey, head of commodities strategy at investment bank Macquarie, slapped a $3,500 U.S. price target on gold, saying the yellow metal is “running ahead of our expectations.”
The continued gains in gold come as stocks and cryptocurrencies selloff due to tariffs and signs of an economic downturn in America.
Also propelling the price of gold upwards has been buying on the part of central banks, which increase their holdings of the precious metal during periods of geopolitical turmoil.
Gold’s price is also gaining ground on growing fears that the U.S. economy might be headed for a recession.
The next catalyst for gold will likely occur on March 19 when the U.S. Federal Reserve makes its next decision on interest rates.
Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding gold and are bullish for the metal.
Gold has never traded above $3,000 U.S. an ounce in its history, and the level is seen as a key milestone for the precious metal that is primarily used to make jewellery.
However, other metals are also seeing their price rise, with both silver and platinum registering gains of more than 1% in the past 24 hours.
