Gold soars as markets crash

Gold soared to record highs last week as US stocks suffered their worst selloff in six months, reaffirming its role as the ultimate crisis hedge.

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The S&P 500 tumbled by 2.7 percent Friday, while the Nasdaq sank by 3.5 percent — their steepest drops since April. Gold, by contrast, rose by 1.1 percent. It extended its winning streak to eight weeks, capping a 53 percent rally this year that has outperformed equities, Bitcoin and virtually every other major asset.

Trump re-escalated the trade war last Friday, threatening to impose an additional 100 percent tariff on China and export controls on “any and all critical software” beginning Nov. 1. The announcement came just hours after he threatened to cancel an upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“It has just been learned that China has taken an extraordinarily aggressive position on Trade in sending an extremely hostile letter to the World, stating that they were going to, effective Nov. 1 , 2025, impose large scale Export Controls on virtually every product they make, and some not even made by them,” Trump said on Truth Social.

The announcement cratered stocks, Bitcoin, oil and industrial metals, while gold surged.

Gold rose above the $4,000 barrier Wednesday, peaking at $4,059 per ounce before settling at $4,017 Friday. Silver hit $51.24, closing at $50.13 — its best level in over four decades. Fueling the latest leg of the rally is the so-called debasement trade which is a bet that relentless government borrowing and money printing will erode the value of fiat currencies.