Investors join gold rush as price rockets

THERE'S no doubt which was the most successful investment of 2025.

- By HARVEY JONES

In fact, it’s been one of the very best performers of the entire millennium.Last year’s clear winner was gold, the oldest store of value known to mankind, treasured since ancient times and just as popular with modern investors and online traders today. The gold price rose a stunning 65% in 2025, briefly touching an all-time high of almost $4,795 (£3,580) an ounce in December.

Incredibly, silver did even better, starting the year at around $30 an ounce and ending it at around $72, a bumper 140% increase.

Somebody who invested £10,000 in gold at the start of 2000, when the price traded around $282 an ounce, would have seen that grow to a staggering £170,000 at last month's peak, a rise of 1,600%. So what's driving the gold price?

SHOCK

Gold thrives in times of economic and political uncertainty, acting as a safe haven when confidence in markets falters. Over the last 25 years, every major economic and political shock has pushed investors into the precious metal.

The dotcom crash of 2000, the 9/11 terror attacks, the financial crisis of 2008, the Covid pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine have all triggered surges. Rising tensions between China and the US have added to the uncertainty, while ongoing geopolitical instability continues to underpin demand.