Gold surges to record $3,500, cementing status as only true safe asset
Photo: Gold prices hit $3,500 for the first time in history (Getty Images)
Gold continued its rapid rise, surpassing $3,500 per ounce for the first time. Fears that President Donald Trump might fire US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell triggered a flight from American stocks, bonds, and the dollar, Bloomberg reports.
Gold prices rose by 2.2% on April 22, following a 2.9% jump in the previous session. Trump called on the Fed to immediately cut interest rates - a move seen as a threat to the central bank's independence, which pushed the dollar down to its lowest level since 2023.
'Sell America'
"Gold's rapid ascent this year tells me that markets have less confidence in the US than ever," said Lee Liang Le, an analyst at Kallanish Index Services. "The 'Trump Trade' narrative has evolved into a 'sell America' narrative," she said.
Gold has gained a third in 2025 as trade disputes roiled markets and undermined confidence in dollar-based assets, boosting demand for some traditional safe havens. Inflows into bullion-backed exchange-traded funds and central bank purchases have fueled the rally, with prices rising every month this year.
Banks have become progressively more positive about gold as this year's rally has gone from strength to strength. Among them, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. predicts the metal could reach $4,000 per ounce by the middle of next year.
Gold may be "the only truly safe asset," as investors grow skeptical of American assets, including Treasury bonds, according to investment bank Jefferies.
Meanwhile, concerns about the US economy recently pushed the dollar's exchange rate to its lowest level against global currencies in three years.
