In a historic session that has fundamentally redefined the precious metals market, the price of gold surged past the psychologically significant US$5,000 per ounce barrier on January 26.

This unprecedented rally comes as a direct response to the “perfect storm” of geopolitical volatility, renewed trade war fears, and looming fiscal instability in the United States.

Spot gold climbed as high as US$5,100.32 per ounce in early trading on Monday, indicating a very large rally of approximately 64-80% from 2025.

Market analysts at Reuters and Bloomberg report that the metal has gained over 17% in January alone, outperforming almost every other asset class.

The primary catalyst for Monday's spike is a series of dramatic proclamations from Washington. President Donald Trump's recent threat to impose 100% tariffs on Canadian goods and a 25% levy on several European nations over the Greenland dispute has sent shockwaves through global markets.

Simultaneously, the threat of a US government shutdown by Friday has eroded confidence in the dollar, forcing institutional investors into the "ultimate safe haven".

Mining stocks, silver surge

Equity markets are reacting even more sharply than the bullion itself. The VanEck Gold Miners ETF ( GDX ) has seen its value skyrocket, returning more than 180% over the past 12 months.

With gold prices now more than triple the average “All-In Sustaining Cost” ( AISC ) of production, major miners like Newmont and Barrick Mining are reporting record-breaking free cash flows.

“We are seeing a complete repricing of the mining sector,” notes a senior analyst at JP Morgan. “At US$5,000 gold, these companies aren't just miners anymore, they are cash-generating machines. We expect dividend yields in this sector to hit historic highs by the next quarter.”

While gold has dominated the headlines, silver has quietly become the “high-beta” champion of the year. Having blasted past US$100 per ounce late last week, silver reached US$107.50 on Monday. This move has caused the gold-to-silver ratio to compress to approximately 50:1, down from 100:1 just nine months ago.

This compression highlights silver's dual role as both a monetary asset and a critical industrial component for the 2026 AI hardware boom. Investors who rotated into silver during the 2025 "undervaluation" phase have seen their portfolios more than triple in value.

Despite the vertical climb, many official sources believe the peak is not yet in sight. Metals Focus, a leading, independent precious metals research consultancy, has updated its year-end forecast to US$5,500, while Bank of America suggests that if current inflationary and geopolitical trends persist, gold could target $6,000 by mid-2026.

As central banks in China and India continue to move aggressively away from dollar-denominated reserves, the floor for precious metals appears to have moved permanently higher. For now, the “Gold Standard” has returned to the forefront of the global financial consciousness.