Gold climbed to a record $5,080 on Monday as traders sought safe havens amid rising geopolitical and trade tensions, according to gold price data. Investors moved toward the metal amid fears of a possible U.S. government shutdown and renewed tariff threats from President Donald Trump.
The Kobeissi Letter said “A likely government shutdown just added fuel to the fire for precious metals,” linking market sentiment to the rally. Trade tensions rose after another weekend of tariff threats, including a 100% tariff threat toward Canada.
Gold reached the $5,000 milestone before Ether, closing out a Polymarket bet placed in October on which asset would arrive first. ETH fell below $2,800 and sits more than 40% below its August high of $4,946.
Silver topped $107 per ounce for the first time and has risen about 48% so far in 2026, while gold is up roughly 17% year-to-date. Comparative data on Google Finance shows gold up about 83% from a year ago, with Bitcoin down about 17%.
Bitcoin fell 1.6% on the day to just under $86,000 on TradingView, erasing its year-to-date gains and trading roughly 30% below October’s $126,000 peak. Jeff Mei, chief operations officer at BTSE, said “Additionally, markets are pricing in the likelihood that the Fed will maintain current interest rate levels, given that the economy has been showing stronger growth and employment numbers.” He added, “Normally, in uncertain times, capital moves towards safe-haven assets such as US Treasuries and gold, but because of the potential government shutdown and Trump’s recent tariff threats over Greenland, global investors are less inclined towards Treasuries and more towards gold.”
