Overview

• Spot prices vaulted to fresh records overnight, trading as high as roughly $4,029–$4,050 per ounce after a second new peak this week.
• Year-to-date gains of about 50%–53% mark the strongest annual increase since 1979, outpacing major asset classes including equities and cryptocurrencies.
• Market drivers cited by analysts include the U.S. government shutdown, political strains in France and Japan, a softer dollar, heavy central-bank buying, and renewed inflows into physically backed gold funds.
• UBS’s Giovanni Staunovo reports continued buying despite elevated prices, while multiple banks note fear of missing out among investors.
• Technical teams at Bank of America flag overbought conditions and a rising risk of a near-term pullback, even as Bitcoin notched a record high near $125,900 alongside record weekly crypto-fund inflows.