Gold Breaks $5,000 for the First Time Ever

Gold delivered a historic performance over the past week, decisively breaking above the US$5,000/oz threshold as geopolitical risk, currency volatility, and shifting capital flows converged. Early in the week, markets were buoyed by steady US inflation data and resilient consumer demand, but sentiment quickly turned defensive following renewed tariff threats from President Trump toward the EU, tied to escalating tensions over Greenland. This triggered a classic safe-haven response, with gold and the Japanese yen jumping sharply in Monday trading. 

While global equity markets finished the week, mixed and US Treasuries, the dollar, and crude oil initially firmed, underlying flows told a more nuanced story. Sector and regional performance pointed to a rotation out of US equities—particularly mega-cap technology and into materials and non-US markets, suggesting geopolitics rather than growth optimism was the dominant driver. Europe showed signs of gradual recovery, China confirmed 5% GDP growth for 2025 in line with targets, and India saw inflation edge higher alongside a widening trade deficit. 

A critical catalyst for gold’s surge came late in the week from Japan. Rising fiscal concerns pushed Japanese government bond yields higher, prompting a rare “rate check” by the Ministry of Finance. The resulting sharp reversal in USD/JPY weakened the dollar materially, exposing the greenback’s long-term uptrend from 2011 and amplifying gold’s upside momentum. Against this backdrop, gold not only cleared its long-watched “triangle resistance” near US$4,770/oz but surged through US$5,000/oz, marking a new all-time high. 

Although rising US yields could pose near-term headwinds, last week’s price action reinforced gold’s role as a geopolitical hedge and currency alternative, particularly in an environment of growing policy uncertainty and elevated cross-market volatility.