Gold prices reach $4,000 for first time amid economic uncertainty

Gold prices reached $4,000 a troy ounce for the first time amid economic uncertainty.

The price of gold has increased more this year than it did during the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2007-09 recession, the Wall Street Journal reported. Gold has not shot up so much since the inflationary shock of 1979.

The price increase comes amid President Trump's tariffs and trade deals, as well as the U.S. dollar having its weakest first half of the year in more than 50 years, according to one measure.

Even as trade tensions have decreased, and the stock markets have resumed their record-breaking run in recent weeks, gold has continued to rise.

The rally's latest leg began in August, when Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled that the central bank would start cutting interest rates as the economy faces low unemployment and above-target inflation.

Meanwhile, according to the World Gold Council, central banks bought 415 tons of gold in the first half. Gold surpassed the euro as the world’s second-largest reserve asset this year.