Gold soars above $4,000 as ETFs see strongest quarter on record

Gold futures (GC=F) soared to new all-time highs above $4,000 on Tuesday as investors piled into the precious metal amid a weakening dollar and growing expectations for more Federal Reserve rate cuts.

Futures for the yellow metal are up more than 50% year to date, marking their highest return in a calendar year since 1979.

Meanwhile, a new report from the World Gold Council released Tuesday showed that global gold-backed exchange-traded funds recorded their largest quarterly inflows on record during the three-month period ending in September.

Inflows into gold ETFs jumped 23% to $26 billion quarter over quarter, led by North American funds and followed by European and Asian investors.

“Ongoing trade, policy, and geopolitical risks continue to persist with no clear signs of abatement,” the report said.

Trading activity in gold also exploded during the period, according to the report.

Average daily volumes surged 34% month over month, driven by record-setting prices that hit 13 new all-time highs in September.

Read more: How to invest in gold in 4 steps

Wall Street has remained bullish on the precious metal, with Goldman Sachs analysts recently reiterating that gold is their “highest-conviction long recommendation.”

On Monday, JPMorgan analysts noted pullbacks, “which typically come 2-3 months after the initial Fed cut, have been dips to buy into gold. “

Questions over the Federal Reserve’s independence amid President Trump’s push to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook have also strengthened some of the bullish case scenarios for the precious metal.

“From a gold perspective, if Fed independence fears are realized it could diminish confidence in treasuries and rapidly increase anxiety about debt debasement, with increased inflows into the metal having the potential to supercharge a rally and add even greater upside risk to our baseline forecasts,” JPMorgan wrote analysts last month.

While the researchers forecast gold to hit $4,000 by early 2026, they also estimated that “even relatively meager rotations” away from the US Treasury market and into gold could have enough firepower to break prices above $5,000 per ounce within a two-quarter span.

Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @ines_ferre.

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