Gold and Silver Surge to Record Highs as Tariff Threats and Geopolitics Rattle Markets
Greenland tariff threats are fueling a rush into gold and silver as markets react to mounting geopolitical uncertainty
Gold and silver surged to fresh record highs on January 20 as investors moved rapidly into safe-haven assets amid escalating geopolitical tensions and renewed tariff threats tied to Greenland.
Spot gold jumped 1.7 percent to $4,672.49 an ounce by 12:05 p.m. ET, after earlier reaching a record peak of $4,689.39. The rally extended gains built throughout 2025, during which gold rose more than 64 percent, and added to gains of more than 8 percent since the start of the year.
Silver posted even sharper gains, climbing as much as 5 percent to $94.61 an ounce before settling near $94.41. Silver is now up more than 32 percent since the start of the year.
The move followed warnings from Donald Trump, who threatened additional tariffs on several European countries unless the United States is allowed to pursue the purchase of Greenland. The comments intensified an already sensitive dispute involving Denmark’s Arctic territory and added to broader concerns around trade, diplomacy, and global stability.
“When institutional and policy risks resurface, markets tend to react swiftly by reallocating toward safe-haven assets, with gold once again emerging as the preferred choice,” said Linh Tran, senior market analyst at XS.com.
The tariff threats triggered a broad risk-off move across markets. The U.S. dollar weakened, while the Japanese yen and Swiss franc strengthened alongside precious
metals. Gold historically performs well during periods of geopolitical and economic uncertainty, particularly when interest rates are expected to fall.
That expectation was reinforced last week when Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said a fragile labor market could weaken quickly, signaling the central bank should remain prepared to cut rates if needed. Markets currently expect the Federal Reserve to leave rates unchanged at its January 27–28 meeting, while pricing in at least two 25-basis-point cuts later this year.
Analysts at Citi Research said they remain tactically bullish on precious metals, setting three-month price targets of $5,000 an ounce for gold and $100 an ounce for silver, citing geopolitical tensions likely to remain elevated. With prices already pressing higher, those targets are now directly in sight.
Gold’s rally has also been supported by longer-term structural factors. “Gold’s rally has been powerful, but it has also been grounded in fundamentals that are still very much in place,” said George Cheveley, natural resources portfolio manager at Ninety One. “With real rates likely to fall and central banks continuing to diversify their reserves, we see more reason for gold to consolidate or edge higher than to sell off sharply.”
Silver’s surge reflects both macro uncertainty and mounting supply constraints.
According to the Silver Institute, the silver market has run a structural deficit for five consecutive years. China, one of the world’s largest refiners, began restricting silver exports at the start of the year to prioritize domestic use, particularly for solar panel production.
Geopolitical pressure has continued to build across multiple fronts. The Greenland tariff dispute follows U.S. intervention in Venezuela’s oil industry earlier this month, renewed rhetoric around Iran, and ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. European and Asia-Pacific equity markets declined on January 19 as investors weighed the potential economic impact of escalating trade measures, including proposed tariffs rising to 25 percent by June if no agreement is reached.
“The debasement trade is on fire and precious metals are the outlet,” Robin Brooks, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said in a post on X.
Reagan Gold Group: Positioning for Structural Risk
At Reagan Gold Group, we focus on physical gold and silver ownership as a way to help clients diversify beyond debt-dependent financial systems. Precious metals are tangible assets that exist outside banking balance sheets and are not tied to government borrowing or monetary policy.
