Gold prices smash new record — here's how to invest in gold in Singapore (2025)
Investors are seeing gold — literally. The precious metal just smashed through another record, soaring past US$4,070 (S$5,300) per ounce amid a storm of renewed US-China trade tensions, a US government shutdown, and expectations of interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.
In Singapore, gold fever is spreading fast. Local investors have boosted their holdings of gold ETFs, certificates, and even physical bullion as prices climb — up 54 per cent so far this year, after a 27 per cent rally in 2024. With analysts now eyeing US$4,500 by next year — and some even predicting US$10,000 before the decade ends.
It’s no question that gold is shining, so perhaps the question is this: how can you invest in it before it climbs higher? Here’s a complete guide.
1. How do you invest in gold in Singapore?
There are a few main ways Singaporeans can invest in gold:
Buy physical gold
Physical gold is usually sold to investors in the form of gold bars or coins. You will have to store your shiny loot at home or in a safe deposit box at the bank. Any form of physical gold is fair game, so that gold chain around your neighbourhood ah pek’s neck can also enjoy an increase in value if gold prices rise.
While we usually see people wearing gold as jewellery, you don’t need to visit a jeweller’s to buy gold for investment. You can buy physical gold for investment purposes at banks. For instance, you can buy gold bars or gold bullion coins at UOB. Bullion gold simply refers to physical gold that investors hold as a hedge against inflation or economic uncertainty.
Buy gold certificates
Buying gold certificates is like buying physical gold, except you don’t have to cart those gold bars home. Instead, you are issued a certificate, which can usually be exchanged at any time for cash or physical gold.
At UOB, you can purchase a gold certificate for $5 with a yearly service charge of $72 per kilobar (fees are before GST). Each certificate sells you gold in the kilobars, and each can hold up to 30 kilograms of gold. Additionally, these certificates never expire and can be exchanged for cash or physical gold if you want to get your hands on the real stuff.
Buy gold using a gold savings account
Some banks give you the option of opening a gold savings account, which enables you to buy and sell gold without having to deal with physical delivery.
Just like gold certificates, a gold savings account lets you buy and sell gold without having to physically manage the real thing. Your gold deposits will simply be reflected in your account balance.
OCBC offers a Precious Metals Account that allows you to buy gold seamlessly via the OCBC Digital app without the need to physically hold it. CIMB’s Gold Account and UOB’s Gold Savings Account work along a similar vein. Here are their charges and other details:
| Gold savings account | Fees and charges | Minimum balance |
| UOB Gold Savings Account | A service charge (subject to GST) that is the higher of: – 0.12 grams of gold per month; or – 0.25% p.a. on the highest gold balance recorded in your account in a month. |
5 grams of gold |
| OCBC Precious Metals Account | No sales charge or custody fee. | None |
| CIMB Gold Account | No maintenance fees and or transaction charges. | None |
Not all banks offer “gold accounts” dedicated to gold investment. For example, don’t be fooled by its name-Citibank’s Citigold savings account isn’t for gold investment, although it does offer up to 7.51 per cent interest p.a.
Buy into gold-related ETFs or other types of funds
This works in much the same way as you would invest in stocks or other commodities through an exchange traded fund (ETF). You buy and sell your shares through a broker or online platform and don’t have to deal with the gold in its physical form.
These are some standout online brokerages, but check out our review of investment brokerages in Singapore to decide which the best one is for you.
Webull is currently the cheapest option for Singapore stocks.
One affordable option for US stocks is moomoo, which charges a flat US$0.99 per order and no commission fees.
Some multi-asset ETFs, such as those you can buy with robo advisor StashAway, also include gold as one of their asset classes, together with others such as stocks and bonds.
Buy stocks in gold-related industries
While investing in gold-related industries isn’t exactly the same as investing in the precious metal itself, the fortunes of these industries often mirror gold prices. When gold prices soar, stock prices of gold-related industries also rise in tandem. The reverse is also true.
Gold-related companies include those involved in gold mining, gold exploration and gold production.
Trade futures, options, commodities and forex
If you just want to make a quick buck by trading gold rather than hold on to it as a long-term investment, you can trade gold on the futures, options, commodities and forex markets. For instance, forex traders can track the price of gold against the USD or some other currency.
But if you’re not an experienced trader, you probably shouldn’t consider this option. Trading is riskier than investing in gold-related ETFs.
2. Why invest in gold?
Even if you have other investments such as stocks, there is a good reason to add gold to your portfolio. That’s because gold is traditionally thought of as a “safe haven” in times of economic crisis-yup, like Trump’s tariffs chaos.
Trade tensions between US and China bring about worries of a full-blown trade war, which in turn could affect Singapore negatively. In fact, earlier this year, some economists warned Singapore could fall into a technical recession. In a recession, you can expect stock and property prices to be depressed. Gold prices, on the other hand, tend to rise in times of economic and political uncertainty. Holding gold can thus be a way to hedge against economic downturns.
In addition, the purchasing power of gold has remained fairly constant over a long period of time, which has given rise to the phrase “the Golden Constant”. By contrast, 30 years ago, the SGD could buy a lot less than it can today. This makes investing in gold a good way to hedge against currency risk. If your currency crashes and burns, your money might become worthless, but your gold will retain its value.
Finally, investing in gold adds yet another asset class to your portfolio, which is great if you’re looking to diversify your investments further in order to spread out the risk.
3. What are historical gold prices like?
So, how has gold as an investment really performed over the last few decades? Here are historic prices of gold for the past 30 years.
| Year | Price (USD/oz) | % change |
| 1994 | 384.2 | 6.76% |
| 1995 | 384.1 | -0.03% |
| 1996 | 387.9 | 0.99% |
| 1997 | 331.3 | -14.59% |
| 1998 | 294.1 | -11.23% |
| 1999 | 278.6 | -5.28% |
| 2000 | 279.1 | 0.19% |
| 2001 | 271.0 | -2.89% |
| 2002 | 309.7 | 14.26% |
| 2003 | 363.3 | 17.32% |
| 2004 | 409.2 | 12.62% |
| 2005 | 444.5 | 8.62% |
| 2006 | 603.8 | 35.85% |
| 2007 | 695.4 | 15.17% |
| 2008 | 872.0 | 25.39% |
| 2009 | 972.4 | 11.51% |
| 2010 | 1,224.5 | 25.93% |
| 2011 | 1,571.5 | 28.34% |
| 2012 | 1,669.0 | 6.20% |
| 2013 | 1,411.2 | -15.44% |
| 2014 | 1,266.4 | -10.26% |
| 2015 | 1,160.1 | -8.40% |
| 2016 | 1,250.8 | 7.82% |
| 2017 | 1,257.2 | 0.51% |
| 2018 | 1,268.5 | 0.90% |
| 2019 | 1,392.6 | 9.78% |
| 2020 | 1,769.6 | 27.07% |
| 2021 | 1,798.6 | 1.64% |
| 2022 | 1,800.1 | 0.08% |
| 2023 | 1,940.5 | 7.80% |
| 2024 | 2,386.2 | 22.97% |
Source: World Gold Council
You’ll notice that on a year-on-year basis, gold prices don’t go up every single year. But if you zoom out and look at the larger price changes over the last 30 years, gold has overall gone up.
Here’s the data in chart form so you can see the price fluctuations more clearly.
As you can see from the 20-year chart, gold prices have been rising since the late 2010s and are at a high right now. What’s even more interesting is if we look at the movement of gold prices from 1970 to now:
You can clearly see that gold prices started their sharp ascent around the time of the global financial crisis of 2007/2008. People who got burned during the financial crisis would have been glad if they had added gold to their portfolios earlier.
4. What are some gold investing scenarios?
At the time of writing, the price of gold in USD/oz is $3,222.90. $4,078.18
If you had bought 10 ounces of gold in 1995, you would have paid about $384.10 * 10 = $3,841.
Today, those 10 ounces would be worth $40,781.80! So if you’d held on to that gold till today, your investment would have yielded $36,940.80 in 30 years.
Now, let’s say you bought 10 ounces of gold 10 years ago in 2015 and held on to it till today. You would have paid $11,601. Today, those 10 ounces would be worth $40,781.80. Your investment would thus have yielded $29,180.80 in about 10 years.
It is important to note, however, that the above worked examples are just based on the price of the gold itself. In reality, your profits would have been reduced slightly by any fees paid to your bank, broker, trading platform or other service provider.
Investing in gold is really no more difficult than buying into any other ETF or fund. It’s also a tried and tested investment asset class that you should consider if you’d like to hedge risk in your portfolio.
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The article was first published in MoneySmart.