Can Gold Prices Top $3,000?

The price of gold reached another all-time high Thursday, pushing the precious metal’s value closer to the $3,000 mark—a milestone analysts increasingly think gold will surpass sooner rather than later.

The $3,000 threshold already appears within reach, with spot gold (XAUUSD) surging as high as $2,954.95 per troy ounce Thursday morning. Gold has reached repeated record highs in recent weeks, rising roughly 13% already this year.

Gold is considered a safe-haven asset in times of uncertainty, and investor optimism for the yellow metal may be driven by concerns about the direction of the global economy and the impact of new U.S. tariffs.

Analysts Say Gold Will Continue To Sparkle

Several Wall Street firms have raised their gold price forecasts to $3,000 or higher. Goldman Sachs, for instance, cited “structurally higher central bank demand” for gold in addition to investors’ appetite for parking assets in safe havens when it early this week raised its gold-price forecast to $3,100 by the end of 2025, up from $2,890 previously. Earlier this month, analysts at ING saw gold topping $3,000 in the current first quarter.

Not every firm, though, shares the same level of optimism. Morgan Stanley, while deeming gold’s recent run as seemingly “unstoppable,” sees the price of gold slipping to $2,700 by the fourth quarter. The firm notes that a potential Russia-Ukraine peace deal could damp the central bank demand that has helped drive gold higher.

Tariff Uncertainty Reigns

Still, the Trump administration’s drive to slap across-the-board tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China has elevated global economic concerns. As a result, investors see even more value in gold, which Moody’s Analytics called “a perennial hedge against uncertainty.”

Moody’s, in a recent research report, said its forecast of gold prices at $3,000 by the end of 2026 reflects expectations for modest declines in growth and “the risk that things get worse.” Specifically, it cited recession risks in key markets.

“The potential for recessions in Europe and China induced by tit-for-tat tariffs would boost gold even higher,” Moody’s said, noting that financial markets still assign a low probability to that happening.

ING agrees, noting that trade and tariff uncertainty should continue boosting gold.

“With Trump back in the White House, uncertainty and unpredictability are running high,” ING analysts wrote, adding that, “gold will continue to benefit from this environment.”