Major Takeaways
- Gold may become significantly more expensive in 2026. Global uncertainty, inflation, and geopolitical factors are prompting investors to seek safe-haven assets, and the XAU/USD is a popular investment vehicle. The consensus forecast suggests that gold will surge to $6,000–$7,000 by year-end.
- There are various ways to invest in gold: you can buy bullion or coins, shares of gold mining companies, or gold-backed ETFs.
- As for stocks, you can take a look at Newmont Corporation, Barrick Gold, and Agnico Eagle Mines. When you buy their shares, you are indirectly investing in the XAU/USD.
- Gold has several advantages, including protection against inflation and crises and the ability to diversify your investment portfolio. Disadvantages include zero dividends and relatively volatile prices.
Why Invest in Gold in 2026
It's worth starting with why deals with gold are called investments rather than purchases or speculation. The thing is that gold is the international commodity equivalent to which the value of all the world's currencies and assets is pegged. Gold will never depreciate, unlike fiat currency. Moreover, the less gold will remain in the bowels of the earth, the more it will be worth. For this reason, large institutional investors keep gold in their portfolios not for years but for decades. Gold is often used as a safe-haven asset to protect funds from depreciation because the average fluctuations in gold are much smaller than in currencies or stocks.
Brief History of Gold Investing
As we've noted, pure gold has long been accepted as a universal commodity for which any other could be exchanged. Initially, simple pieces of gold were in use, the value of which depended on their weight. Later on, gold was melted into bars and gold coins. At the exact same time, the commonly accepted and still used weight designation of 31.1035 grams of gold, the troy ounce, came into being.
After gold began to be traded on exchanges, its exchange price began to rise sharply, since at all times it was considered to be the primary measure of wealth. The first attempt to refuse gold as an equivalent was made by some states in the middle of the 19th century. It ended with the collapse of the economies of these countries, and the spot price of gold just slowed its steady rise.
The most significant and well-known attempt to abandon gold was made by central banks of developed countries at the end of the XX century. At that time, they actively sold off their gold reserves, transferring money into short-term financial projects. We all remember the crisis of 2008, when all projects were devalued, and the famous rise of gold when spot prices rose from 300 to 1200 dollars per ounce.
In 2025, gold saw a record 71.41% increase, reaching a new all-time high of $4,525.75. Compared to 2023, the XAU/USD rate doubled, yielding substantial profits for investors.
Geopolitical tensions were the key growth driver, prompting investors to seek safe-haven assets. Gold traditionally serves as a safe-haven asset during times of:
- continuing global conflicts;
- trade wars and sanctions;
- de-dollarization of the global economy, with many central banks actively diversifying their reserves.
- trading