Pirates once searched the seas for chests full of gold coins and jewels. Today, people still hunt for gold. Of course, most people must pay for the expensive metal. And now they have to spend more money than ever before. On October 7, the price of gold hit $4,000 per ounce (28 g) for the first time in history!
Gold has been a precious metal for thousands of years. It has been a symbol of wealth and power across the planet. For example, rulers of ancient Egypt wore jewelry and fancy clothing made from gold. People also used gold to trade with each other. In China, small squares of gold were used as a form of money more than 3,000 years ago.
For most of the 1800s and early 1900s, gold cost about $20 per ounce. By the 1970s, the value began to jump. Gold grew to be worth hundreds of dollars for each ounce! In 2008, gold cost $1,000 per ounce for the first time. It reached $2,000 in August 2020. Then it got to $3,000 in March 2025. Now gold has smashed another record as its value hit $4,000 per ounce.
But what makes gold so valuable? Well, there isn’t much of it in the world, so it’s very rare. Companies mine in the Earth’s crust for the resource, and many people try to find small pieces in riverbeds. The metal also does not rust or wear out, which means it lasts forever. It is the most malleable element on Earth, so it can be hammered into very thin sheets without breaking. It even melts easily, which is why workers often turn gold into coins or jewelry. And it doesn’t hurt that gold is shiny and, well, golden.
Gold often becomes more valuable during uncertain times. When the struggles, the prices of other goods (such as oil or stocks) may fall. Yet gold generally holds its value even during tough times. In 2020, the coronavirus caused many people to lose their jobs, and many businesses were forced to close. The price of gold soared to new records then.
New events are making people feel unsure about the economy. U.S. President Donald Trump has recently added to goods from many other countries. These new taxes have created a trade war, with nations (like Canada and China) raising taxes on each other’s goods. Because people are worried about the effects on the economy, more investors are buying gold bars, coins, and jewelry. And the price of this precious metal keeps going up, up, and up.
Some experts predict that the price of gold may hit $4,900 per ounce by the end of 2026. Yet that depends on what happens across the world over the next year.
By Russell Kahn (Russ)
Updated October 7, 2025, 5:00 P.M. (ET)
