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Gold prices surge to a new record: Why investors are buying in
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Interest in gold investing has grown substantially over the past few years, and this year has been particularly notable for the precious metal. Since early 2024, the price of gold has been climbing, and the uptick has been nothing short of remarkable, with gold shattering multiple price records so far this year.
The first significant spike came in early March, when gold prices surged to $2,160 per troy ounce, up 8% from the previous record of $2,135 in December 2023. By April, the price of gold had broken another record, and it did so again in May and August. Gold’s price then continued its upward trajectory, landing at yet another all-time high of $2,584.09 per ounce this week (September 16).
While this price performance would be impressive for any asset class — gold’s price is up 25% since January 1 while the average stock market return is about 10% per year — it’s particularly notable for gold. After all, gold is traditionally seen as a long-term, stable investment rather than a high-growth opportunity. But why are investors putting money into gold now? That’s what we will answer below.
Want to capitalize on gold’s price growth? Explore your top gold investing options here now.
Why investors are buying gold now
There are a few reasons why investors are flocking to gold right now, including:
To capitalize on future price growth
One reason investors are moving to gold currently is to capitalize on the potential for future price growth. While gold’s recent price trajectory is unusual, many analysts believe the upward trend in gold prices could persist for the near future, as there are a few factors driving it.
For starters, sustained demand from investors and institutional buyers is pushing the price higher, as gold remains a popular choice for those seeking to diversify their portfolios or protect their wealth. But beyond individual investors, central banks around the world are increasing their gold reserves and this demand is not expected to wane any time soon.
Gold’s uses are also expanding beyond traditional investment and jewelry markets. Technological advancements, particularly in electronics and renewable energy sectors, are helping to increase the demand for gold. As these industries grow, demand for gold in technological applications may rise, adding to upward pressure on its price.
The finite nature of gold also plays a key role. Gold is a limited resource, and mining output has been relatively stable in recent years. With limited new supply entering the market and continued demand growth, many investors expect prices to keep climbing. In fact, some experts believe that the price of gold could hit $3,000 per ounce soon.
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To protect against economic uncertainties
While inflation has cooled significantly compared to previous years, with the current inflation rate just slightly higher than the Fed’s 2% target rate, broader economic uncertainties continue to drive investors toward gold. The stock market has experienced some volatility recently, with downturns occurring over the last few months. And other economic factors, like a weaker-than-expected job outlook, has made other asset classes riskier in the eyes of many investors.
Ongoing geopolitical tensions have also made gold an attractive asset, as gold has historically been a safe haven during times of political instability or economic upheaval. So as these types of disruptions continue to impact global markets, gold’s role as a store of value tends to make it more appealing.
And while inflation may be slowing, the reality is that inflationary pressures could return in the future, and that is also driving renewed interest from investors. Because gold has long been viewed as an effective hedge against inflation, some investors are adding it to their portfolios as protection against future spikes in inflation.
For gold’s other benefits
Gold’s allure goes beyond its price growth and safe-haven status. Many investors turn to gold for its unique characteristics that differentiate it from other assets.
For one, gold has no counterparty risk. Unlike stocks or bonds, where the value is tied to the performance of a company or government, gold holds intrinsic value. Investors own a tangible asset, whether in the form of gold bullion, gold coins or ETFs tied to physical gold. This makes gold appealing in times when trust in financial institutions may be waning.
Another key benefit is liquidity. Gold is one of the most liquid assets in the world, meaning it can be easily bought and sold with minimal transaction costs. This is particularly attractive during market downturns when other assets may be harder to offload quickly.
Gold’s universal appeal also makes it a globally accepted asset. It’s not tied to any one country or economy. This makes it particularly valuable in a world where economic changes can occur quickly from region to region.
The bottom line
This year’s surge in gold prices has been remarkable, with new record highs reached every few months so far. And while some may view gold as a traditional, long-term investment, many investors are buying in now to capitalize on potential future price growth and safeguard their portfolios against economic uncertainties. It’s a strategy that could pay off, as the sustained demand, new technological uses and finite nature have made it a compelling choice for those looking to diversify their investments and grow their wealth.
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Trump announces Musk, Ramaswamy will lead newly-created Department of Government Efficiency
President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that billionaire Elon Musk and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy will head up a new agency known as the Department of Government Efficiency.
Trump in a statement said the two “will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies – Essential to the ‘Save America’ Movement.”
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In his own statement, Musk said the new agency “will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!”
Musk was a major part of Trump’s reelection campaign effort, while Ramaswamy ran against Trump in the Republican primary before endorsing him.
The department’s acronym, DOGE, is also a dog meme that inspired Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency that was created as a joke and is credited with being the first meme coin.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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After Hurricane Helene, a North Carolina woman uses the power of social media to reunite families with old photographs lost in the storm
We’ve seen the images of destruction, debris and flooding left behind from Hurricane Helene. But other images also came out of the storm: family photos – snapshots of happy memories and important milestones – left behind in the mess.
After the deadly hurricane in October, Taylor Schenker, who lives in Canton, North Carolina, nearby hard-hit Asheville, found herself with about 200 family photos that didn’t belong to her.
It started after the storm. Schenker’s house weathered Helene well, but she said her friend’s entire home was destroyed by flooding from the Swannanoa River. At least 220 people across six states died in the hurricane, including over 40 in Buncombe County, which includes Asheville.
Schenker and her friend went for a walk to check out the home, which was one of the many in Asheville that was destroyed.
“We spent about four hours digging through the mud, looking for any belongings of hers we could find, because her house literally just doesn’t exist anymore,” Schenker told CBS News last month. “And during that process, I found about four of five individual photographs and we laid out the photos – along with some clothes and we found an American flag – along the bank, hoping they would be reunited with people.”
Vanessa Graham via Photos from Helene
Schenker said thinking about the photos she left behind kept her up that night. “Just thinking, ‘Here are these little photographs that miraculously made it through all of this and now are sitting here and what if it rains or what if the wind blows and they aren’t able to be reunited with their family,'” she said. “That would be such a shame because they made it through all of this. And I know how special a memory like that can really be for somebody.”
So, Taylor went back the next day to get the photos and ended up finding more. She said it was obvious the photos belonged to multiple families.
“It was [a photo of] a middle school basketball team. It was a photo of a beloved dog. I found a wedding photo of a bride hugging somebody,” she said. “You take photos because you have a moment you want to remember and so, they did all seem just special.”
Realizing how many important family memories she now had in her possession, she started the Photos from Helene Instagram page — a virtual lost-and-found. She hoped people would recognize the photos on her page and word of mouth would help reunite them with their rightful owners.
The Instagram page is filled with school portraits, Christmas cards, images of childhood friends and families on vacation. She even found a photo of Michael Jordan dunking the ball that a local man says his dad snapped years ago.
Schenker took them home, dusted them off and categorized them in folders and bins for safekeeping until they could be returned to their owners.
Schenker said she found about 100 photos herself, but picked up about another 100 from other people who found them, including search and rescue teams. At the time of our interview in late October, she said she had returned about 15% of the photos she has collected. She still adds new photos to Instagram daily.
Each reunion is a heartwarming reminder that what she’s doing is important. “Being able to have that moment where you hand something so special to somebody and then also just give them a hug – because they’ve lost likely their entire home in this situation – it’s such a privilege to have an insight into this moment in their lives through these photographs and be able to give them back to them,” she said.
Schenker mails photos to people who are no longer in the area, but she also hand delivers the ones that belong to families who stayed close by. In one case, a college-aged son found his family’s photos on her Instagram, reached out to Schenker and connected her with his mom.
“We have now found five photos of this one family, of these two sons, and when I met with the mom to reunite the photos, she shared that one of her sons had actually passed,” Schenker said. “And so, when they lost their home, they lost all memory of this child. Which is absolutely devastating in addition to the devastation that has already happened.”
She said she recently went for another so-called photo walk – where she digs through debris to find images – and recognized the woman’s late son in yet another photo.
Becky and Nancy Tate, a mother-daughter duo, also found old family photos through the Instagram page. “It was an extremely strange feeling to just be scrolling on social media and randomly see a picture of me when I was 10 in front of a Christmas tree,” Nancy Tate told CBS News on Instagram. “That’s how I found out about Photos from Helene, a total fluke and scrolling and seeing a picture of me covered in dirt.”
Tate family via Photos from Helene
“A very surreal feeling to know all of your belongings and photos have been lost, and then to realize that some person you’ve never met is trying to help people locate these pictures, just out of the kindness of their heart,” Nancy said. “That truly sums up the Asheville community.”
Nancy tagged her mom in the Instagram comments, saying her mom cried when she saw it. Becky told CBS News she felt a combination of joy and shock – “a time of high adrenaline and disbelief.”
Schenker said that many families who lived in the same neighborhood before the hurricane have recognized other people’s photos on the Photos from Helene Instagram page and helped connect each other to Schenker.
“The process is definitely fulfilling,” she said. “It’s fun to see the moment that a photograph is reunited and to see the people in the comments tagging each other and saying, ‘Hey, is this you?’ or ‘Oh my gosh, you just reminded me of this moment in my life that I had totally forgotten about.'”
She said she chose her Instagram’s name because most of the photos we’ve seen come out of the hurricane show the devastation left behind – but her photos from Helene are happy memories of Asheville and the lives lived there.
“You still can’t go to the grocery store without seeing piles of debris,” she said. “And I think that has definitely made me and others celebrate these wins even bigger. Because you have to in order to get through the day to day now.”
