Economic volatility is pushing people to buy more gold

Economic volatility has pushed more people to buy gold. Both big investors and regular savers are rushing to stockpile gold as a safe haven for troubled times.

Marc Faber, a veteran investor known as “Dr. Doom,” has long made gold a key part of his own holdings and urged others to do the same.

Faber often appears in video interviews, praising gold as a safe haven while warning of a possible economic collapse. He warns about a debt crisis, a sharp drop in asset prices, and surging inflation.

“My sense is that a debt crisis is inevitable,” he said. According to Business Insider, Faber holds 25% of gold in his portfolio, and his clients follow his example, keeping a significant share of their wealth in the metal.

There has been a steady move toward gold among his clients. But the rush to buy the metal has also spread to more ordinary investors. Many blame the economic uncertainty in 2025.

Some of the fears voiced by Faber’s clients, from runaway inflation to even a full-scale war, may seem far-fetched. Yet analysts do not expect this wave of buying to fade soon.

Global demand for gold bars rose to 257 metric tons in the first quarter of 2025, a 13% gain over the same period last year, according to the World Gold Council.

Joe Cavatoni, a market strategist at the World Gold Council, said worries about the US dollar, weakness in the US economy, and the nation’s debt and deficit have helped drive demand higher.

Interest in the search term “gold bars” on Google increased during significant market events, such as the announcement of tariffs on Canada and Mexico and Moody’s downgrade of US debt.

Genesis Gold Group, a firm that often serves clients it calls “homesteaders” or “preppers,” says it has seen intense demand in recent quarters. Sales grew so fast that the company introduced a “prepper bar,” designed to be broken into smaller pieces for easier trade during a crisis.

Jonathan Rose, the firm’s CEO, said sales of that bar jumped 20% in the first quarter of 2025, around the time President Donald Trump began laying out his tariff plans.

More of Genesis’s customers are also asking to take their gold home. Rose estimates that about 70% of his clients now insist on holding physical gold, up from just 20% in past years.

On the subreddit r/preppers, which has grown its membership by about 354% since 2020, by one count, users frequently ask whether to keep cash in the market or pile into gold.

“It helps when a currency collapses,” one user wrote. “Cash is always king, until it collapses, then that’s where gold and silver step in.”

Gold buyers to stay cautious until tariff impact on growth is clear

The gold price has climbed about 25% in 2025, easily outpacing the S&P 500, which is down roughly 1% year-to-date. That rally has led some to wonder if the buying spree may have gone too far.

Recently, Trump agreed to delay tariffs on Europe until 9 July. This pullback reduced some panic, resulting in a Gold dip of 0.3% to $3,346.89 on Monday from a Friday surge of 1.9%. However, experts warn that people are still uneasy about the U.S. fiscal outlook.

Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone, noted that President Trump’s recent tax bill reignited worries over the US debt and deficit. But he said those fears may ease if lawmakers make changes to the bill to reassure bond investors.

Moreover, Goldman Sachs cut its odds of a downturn this year from 45% to 35%, and Barclays dropped its mild-recession forecast altogether.

Meanwhile, Michael Boutros, senior technical strategist at StoneX, said there is plenty of fearmongering in markets right now, though he expects gold demand to stay strong as long as people feel uneasy about the economy.

Even after trade disputes get settled, Boutros believes gold buyers will remain cautious until they see how tariffs affect growth. “The rockier things get, the more this is going to find footing,” he said of gold’s momentum. Joe Cavatoni of the World Gold Council added that he sees solid price support and a continued upward path for gold through 2025.