As gold prices trend upward, World Gold Council data and experts highlight that the U.S. might be repatriating gold owing to tariff fears, securing a strong domestic reserve, possible gold audits, and ending globalization.
What Happened: Gold surpassed the $3,000 per ounce mark and it’s now headed toward $3,100 with its last record high at $3,057.51.
According to Josh Phair, the CEO of Scottsdale Mint, a U.S.-based manufacturer and distributor of precious metal products, the repatriation trend became noticeable in December as the exchange for physical premiums increased.
He added that after the new year, “I think everyone realized this is primarily driven by tariff risk and the banks are not in the business of taking risk – they do not want to pick up pennies in front of freight trains. The goal was to get all the metal stateside.”
He also said that there must be an “invisible hand” with the uncertainty around the new administration, the possibility of a gold audit after Elon Musk and Donald Trump urged Fort Knox inspection in February.
Phair emphasized the risk aversion of banks and the broader trend of countries wanting to secure their gold holdings within their own borders, citing the example of Germany.
Speaking about the geopolitical context of repatriation, with a move away from globalization and toward self-sufficiency, he added, “I think we’re ending kind of the world of globalization. Now people are saying hey we need to be self-sufficient, we need to find new partnerships. For the same reason that China has been pulling their metal and buying metal out of Europe now for a couple years.”
Why It Matters: Data from the World Gold Council showed that gold was being exported from Switzerland to the U.S.
Apart from the U.S., a report by Marissa Salim, the senior research lead of APAC at the World Gold Council highlighted that APAC central banks reported 18 tonnes of net purchases in January 2025.
“Emerging market central banks remain at the forefront of net buying, with Uzbekistan, China, and Kazakhstan the top three buyers,” she said.
According to Taylor Burnette, the research lead at the World Gold Council, “Gold surged from US$2,500/oz to US$3,000 in just 210 days, pushing it three standard deviations above its 200-day moving average.”
“While gold may face some consolidation due to the speed of its latest move, the combination of geopolitical and geoeconomic uncertainty, rising inflation, lower rates, and a weaker US dollar continue to provide powerful tailwinds to investment demand,” he said.
Price Action: Gold was trading at $3,031.30 per ounce, down 0.46% as of the publication of this article.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF QQQ, which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, fell in premarket on Friday. The SPY was down 0.51% to $562.59, and the QQQ declined 0.34% to $477.65, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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