Gold and silver prices are skyrocketing as investors flock to safe-haven assets.
The spot price of gold rose as high as US$4,924.29 per ounce on Thursday (January 22), even as US President Donald Trump walked back his threats to take over Greenland by force in his Davos speech.
That’s because investors are still faced with the global economic implications of insurmountable debt levels and unresolved trade wars, which have led central banks around the world to bolster their gold reserves.
Gold price chart, January 15 to 22, 2026.
The yellow metal’s latest rise adds to an ongoing historic run.
After starting 2025 around US$2,640, gold had risen to the US$3,200 level by April. It stayed within a fairly flat range until the end of August, when it launched higher once again, breaking US$4,300 in mid-October.
The price of gold took a breather following that move, even falling briefly below US$4,000; however, its retracement was neither as steep nor as long as many market watchers expected it to be.
Gold began gaining steam again in mid-November, and took off again in earnest at the end of 2025.
In 2026, precious metals have continued to benefit from geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty. Expectations of interest rate cuts after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s term ends later this year have provided support too. Trump’s feud with the Fed over rates took an eyebrow-raising turn on January 9, when the US Department of Justice served the Fed with grand jury subpoenas targeting Powell with a criminal indictment.
Earlier this week, gold climbed higher as investors moved out of global stocks after Trump said over the weekend that European nations opposing his bid to acquire Greenland could face tariffs of up to 25 percent.
The nations targeted included France, Germany, the UK, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands and Finland. The news prompted fears of a full-blown US-Europe trade war, a weaker US dollar, higher inflation and a worsening outlook for the global economy. There were even concerns that the conflict over Greenland could seriously weaken or dismantle the NATO alliance. Gold is traditionally used as a hedge against such risks.
Greenland’s key geographic position in the Arctic has long been coveted by the US as a necessary strategic asset in its geopolitical struggle with Russia and China. “China and Russia want Greenland, and there is not a thing that Denmark can do about it,” Trump wrote on January 17 on his social media platform Truth Social. “Only the United States of America, under PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP, can play in this game, and very successfully, at that!”
‘As soon as the probability of escalation increases, defensive capital tends to move preemptively, rather than waiting for tangible impacts to materialize in economic data. In this context, gold functions as a portfolio risk-balancing asset.’
European leaders responded with vows that they would not be blackmailed into allowing Trump to take Greenland, and said they were preparing counter measures to the president’s tariffs.
Perhaps the pressure worked, as Trump made a point of stating in his Wednesday (January 21) Davos speech: ‘I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.’
Silver is also attracting attention, pushing past the US$96 per ounce mark for the first time. Although it is valued as an investment metal, silver is key for technology such as solar panels.
Elsewhere in the precious metals space, platinum rose to record highs on Thursday, reaching US$2,612 per ounce. Palladium remains below its top price level, but is elevated above US$1,800 per ounce.
Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.