Gold regains its luster as market worries about a pullback in stocks
Gold has regained some of its luster over the past week in the midst of a softening stock market outlook. On Thursday alone, the precious metal jumped to a more than two-week high . Spot gold rose 0.5% to more than $3,385 an ounce. U.S. gold futures gained 0.3% to about $3,445. Gold is the best performing asset class of 2025, soaring roughly 25% since the start of the year as a raft of macroeconomic concerns and unsettling headlines out of Washington drove demand for the safe haven asset. A recent World Gold Council report found that demand from central banks around the world shows no sign of easing. Until now, the precious metal has remained rangebound all summer. That was in part due to a risk-on rally in the stock market that curbed appetite for the conservative asset. Now, however, more firms on Wall Street are raising their expectations for bullion. UBS AG Singapore Branch strategist Wayne Gordon holds a target of $3,500 an ounce in his central case, but would not rule out a jump to $3,800 if the geopolitical or economic outlook deteriorates. Citigroup Research’s Max Layton, global head of commodities research, expects gold will reach fresh all-time highs. He upgraded gold to $3,500 per ounce from $3,300 over the next three months, expecting a range of $3,300 to $3,600 per ounce. @GC.1 YTD mountain Gold futures, year to date “Gold has regained some of its earlier ‘mojo’ as U.S. July payrolls surprised negatively and tariff-related attacks by Trump on various countries and institutions escalated, including India, Switzerland, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell,” Gordon at UBS wrote in a note over the weekend. Demand for gold is perking up again as fresh concerns over a weakening U.S. labor market and the risk of higher inflation from tariffs signal potential trouble for stocks — at just the same time they’re trading near all-time highs and appear priced for perfection . “There’s talk, substantial talk of frothy risk assets,” said Joe Cavatoni, senior market strategist for the Americas at the World Gold Council. “What’s interesting to me is when they get down, it’s the kind of environment [where] gold performs well.” Cavatoni said the setup for gold in the back half of the year remains strong, as central banks and professional portfolio managers continue to pile into the asset as a diversifier against a multitude of risks.
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