Best gold shares to watch in 2026

Gold entered 2026 on the back of a parabolic run that saw the metal surge to an all-time high of close to $5,600/oz during January, fuelled by escalating geopolitical tension in the Middle East and a global scramble for safe-haven assets.

However, the market is navigating a sharp and complex correction, one that has caught many investors off guard.

Gold market in 2026

Spot gold is currently trading around $4,500 /oz, with the sell-off driven not by any fundamental deterioration in gold’s long-term investment case, but by a confluence of short-term macroeconomic forces that have temporarily overwhelmed its safe-haven appeal.

The Iran-Israel conflict and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has cut off roughly 20% of global oil supply, has pushed crude prices above $100 per barrel. Rather than boosting gold as one might expect, this energy shock has triggered a wave of global inflation fears, prompting the Federal Reserve and other major central banks to signal that interest rate cuts will be delayed.

A higher-for-longer rate environment typically strengthens the US dollar and Treasury yields, both of which create a direct headwind for non-yielding assets like gold.

Compounding this, the initial panic triggered by the Iran conflict may have caused institutional investors to sell their liquid assets (including gold) to cover margin calls and stem losses in crashing equity markets. With gold having risen so sharply earlier in the year, profit-taking has added further downward pressure, creating a snowball effect across futures and ETF markets.

It is worth noting, however, that this sell-off is largely a paper gold phenomenon. While futures and ETF positions have been unwound aggressively, premiums on physical gold remain elevated, reflecting the conviction of long-term buyers who view the current dip as a correction within a broader structural bull market, and not the end of one.

That view is shared by Wall Street’s major banks. JP Morgan, UBS and Goldman Sachs all maintain long-term price targets of $5,000–$6,300/oz, characterising the current weakness as a shakeout of weaker hands rather than a reversal of trend.