Gold’s price hit a record high of nearly $5,600 per troy ounce in January.
It’s pulled back to about $4,500 as of this writing, but it’s still more than doubled since the end of 2023
The Federal Reserve’s six consecutive rate cuts in 2024 and 2025, which reduced its benchmark rate from 4.75%-5.00% to 3.50%-3.75%, drove gold higher by weakening the U.S. dollar. That trend drove more investors to buy gold as a hedge against a weaker dollar. The Iranian conflict, which started at the end of February, convinced even more safety-seeking investors to buy gold.
That pressure propped up gold, even though the Fed left its benchmark rates unchanged at its first three FOMC meetings this year in January, March, and April. Should you invest in gold via a top ETF like the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEMKT: GLD) before the next FOMC meeting on June 16? Or will gold lose its luster in the second half of 2026?