On Tuesday, February 11, gold prices hit an all-time high of $2,942.70 per ounce amid concerns over President Trump’s tariff announcement.
Gold Holds Onto ‘Safe Haven’ Status
On Feb. 11, gold prices surged to $2,942.70 per ounce, a new all-time high, amid concerns that U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcement could trigger a global trade war. Although the price dropped to just above $2,900 a few hours later, the brief rally pushed gold’s year-to-date gain to nearly 11% at one point.
According to a Reuters report, investors took profits, causing the precious metal’s retreat. However, investors remain bullish on gold, which appears to be maintaining its safe-haven status.
Kyle Rodda, a financial market analyst at Capital.com, is quoted in the report explaining how trade war fears drive demand for gold: “The risk of a global trade war is putting pressure on trading in physical bullion and driving financial markets to get exposure to gold as part of a de-dollarization theme.”
As a result, gold buyers shipping the commodity to the U.S. to avoid potential tariffs are “somewhat price insensitive,” Rodda said.
Meanwhile, bitcoin, often seen as a digital equivalent of gold, dropped over 2% from $98,000 to $95,000 on Feb. 11. This price action appears to undercut proponents’ view that bitcoin is a safe-haven asset, similar to gold.
This view is echoed by gold proponents like Peter Schiff, a gold bug and Bitcoin critic, who now expects gold to surpass $3,000. In a post on X, Schiff questioned bitcoin’s “digital gold” claims.
“In 2021, when Bitcoin hit a high of $69,000, its market cap was 10.72% of gold’s market cap. Today, even with Bitcoin at $98k, its market cap has fallen to 9.95% of gold’s market cap. If Bitcoin is the new gold, why has it become less important than gold over the past four years,” Schiff asked.
Besides criticizing Bitcoin proponents, Schiff also took aim at U.S. media and Wall Street, which he accuses of ignoring gold’s “spectacular” performance or trying to tarnish its image. According to Schiff, the precious metal’s opponents are “quickly discovering that gold is one of the few metals that doesn’t tarnish.”
