Gold (GC=F) June futures opened at $4,557 per troy ounce on Thursday, down 1.18% from Wednesday’s opening price. The price of gold is moving higher this morning, trading at $4,649.90 as of 6:40 a.m. ET.
Silver (SI=F) May futures opened at $71.38 per ounce on Thursday, 2.19% lower than Wednesday’s opening price. The silver price also rose higher in early trading, moving up to $74.16 as of 6:40 a.m. ET.
Reports that the U.S. is considering renewed military action in the Middle East to speed up negotiations and reopen the Strait of Hormuz sent the global price of oil to over $120 a barrel overnight and prompted investors to consider precious metals as a safe-haven investment once more.
At the moment, the price of gold is stuck between two forces. There is downward pressure on metal prices driven by international inflation concerns and upward momentum as investors seek a safe-haven investment amid geopolitical unrest.
For the moment, the Fed has left interest rates unchanged, but comments by Fed Chair Powell following yesterday’s two-day meeting suggested that price pressures haven’t reached their peak, which could very likely prompt the Fed to raise interest rates later this year.
Rising interest rates put downward pressure on gold prices because the yellow metal is not a yield-bearing asset.
Current price of gold
The opening price of gold futures on Thursday was nearly even with Wednesday’s close. Here’s a look at how the opening gold price has changed versus last week, month, and year:
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One week ago: -3.3%
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One month ago: +1.7%
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One year ago: +37.3%
Gold’s year-over-year growth was 95.6% on Jan. 29.
24/7 gold price tracking: Don’t forget you can monitor the current price of gold on Yahoo Finance 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Want to learn more about the current top-performing companies in the gold industry? Explore a list of the top-performing companies in the gold industry using the Yahoo Finance Screener. You can create your own screeners with over 150 different screening criteria.
Current price of silver
The opening price of silver futures on Thursday was down 0.03% from Wednesday’s close. Here’s how the opening silver price has changed versus last week, month, and year:
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One week ago: -6.5%
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One month ago: +5.1%
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One year ago: +117%
Learn more: How to invest in silver: A beginner’s guide
Gold IRA: What it is, how it works
If you are socking gold bars away for a rainy day, there may be an opportunity to earn some tax perks in the process. You could establish a gold IRA to hold those assets and diversify your retirement wealth.
Learn more: How to invest in gold in 4 steps
A gold IRA is a specialty form of self-directed IRA that’s designed for gold and other precious metals.
Gold IRA vs. traditional IRA
The table below compares the main features of standard IRAs and gold IRAs.
IRS restrictions
You must work with a specialty provider that can ensure your account complies with these IRS restrictions:
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Storage: Your gold must be held in an IRS-approved facility.
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Asset types: A gold IRA can hold physical gold, silver, platinum, or palladium — but not all forms of these metals are eligible. For example, gold bullion, silver coins, and bars must meet purity requirements. Additionally, gold bars must come from approved refiners.
Learn more: Gold IRA: Benefits, risks, and how it differs from a traditional IRA
Price of gold and price of silver charts
Whether you’re tracking the price of gold and silver since last month or last year, the price-of-gold and price-of-silver charts below show the precious metals’ value journey so far this year.
More silver coverage from the Yahoo Finance team:
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