Gold has surged amid economic uncertainty. Should you buy some?

As economic uncertainty roils the US, the price of gold has roared to record highs amid investors seeking a place to shield their cash from Donald Trump’s scattergun trade wars.

A single ounce of gold cost $3,051.99 on Wednesday, compared with $2,160 in 2024, and gold has historically been seen as the safest place to invest in financially turbulent times.

But the buying, and potentially hoarding, of gold need not be restricted to the Scrooge McDucks of this world. In 2025, gold can be bought from Walmart and Amazon – although experts say more established gold dealers are a better source.

Once a person has bought the gold, they can do whatever they like with it: there are whole Reddit threads devoted to the best way to bury gold underground. (Dig a deep hole, dump your vacuum-sealed gold in the hole, put a layer of rocks on top of the gold so it can’t be discovered by a thief with a metal detector, then try not to forget where the gold is buried.)

Experts suggest not burying the gold, however.

“Gold is one of the few elements on the periodic table that does not decay or oxidize over time, so there’s no need to worry about deterioration,” said Alex Deluce, the host of the Gold Telegraph Show, and an expert in gold investment.

“However, for safekeeping, store it in a secure location, ideally in a safety deposit box or a well-protected home safe. Keep it away from direct sunlight and heat sources to maintain its condition and security.”

Deluce said gold should be purchased “from reputable suppliers who insure all deliveries”, and financial magazines including Forbes have lists devoted to gold-selling companies.

To the uninitiated, an equally important question is: what kind of gold should people buy?

Taylor Kenney, an economic journalist who works for ITM Trading, a gold and silver dealer based in Arizona, said most gold purchases are of bullion: gold that has been refined and shaped into coins or bars.

Some of those bars are the big heavy type that is frequently stolen from banks in heist movies, but those tend to be very heavy, which means they are very expensive. Instead, many gold purchasers will be buying much smaller bars.

A handy example was seen in the recent case of Bob Menendez, the now former Democratic senator who in January was sentenced to 11 years in prison for receiving bribes.

Photos shared by the FBI showed that Menendez had an amazing a hoard of gold bullion in a variety of sizes: he had a couple of gold bars that weighed just one ounce.

According to the United States Gold Bureau – which is not a government body, but instead a cleverly named private gold-trading company – the one-ounce bars are the most commonly traded around the world. Roughly the size of a US military dog tag, one-ounce bars were listed at Walmart for $3,122.10 on Friday, although anyone who has ever ordered and never received a table lamp from Walmart might want to try elsewhere.

Menendez had also accumulated, through nefarious means, some one-kilo gold bars, each of which, at today’s prices, is worth just under $100,000.

“Now is the perfect time to buy gold,” said Kenney.

She said gold prices are rising “in response to inflation, geopolitical unrest and economic uncertainty”.

Kenney added: “As dollar dominance is called into question, gold carries no counterparty risk and serves as a true store of wealth, unlike fiat currencies [such as the US dollar] that can be printed at will. The same reason central banks are buying gold is the same reason that average citizens should be buying gold as well.”

Gina Miller, the founder of Moneyshe.com, is less convinced. She told CityAM that while gold has traditionally been viewed as a safe investment, “its track record reveals significant limitations as a long-term investment”.

“For instance, while gold surged 148% from October 2008 to August 2011, it took nearly nine years, until July 2020, to reach new highs. Such prolonged stagnation makes it unappealing for investors seeking steady, long-term growth,” Miller said.

With gold at record-high prices, it is unlikely that people will be able to buy the metal and flip it for quick returns. Instead, experts say, people should see gold as a small part of an investment portfolio, rather than pumping all their money into it and putting it in a big vault.

As Trump shows no signs of backing down on his trade battles, having a few dog tags of gold stored in a safe space, or, if you’re Menendez, “jammed into jackets and boots”, might not be the worst option.