Gold reached a record high of $2,951.73 per ounce in February, driven by safe-haven demand amid U.S. trade policy uncertainty and rising inflation expectations.
A major factor was the 2.49% increase in gold ETF holdings—the largest monthly inflow since March 2022. Despite a late-month pullback, gold secured a 2.12% monthly gain.
Meanwhile, gold mining stocks are showing strong leverage to gold prices, up 17.22% year-to-date compared to bullion’s 8.89%.
The industry remains largely insulated from global tariffs, with many producers actually benefiting from foreign currency depreciation since their costs are in local currencies.