Gold (GC=F) June futures opened at $4,534 per troy ounce on Tuesday, down 2.4% from Monday’s opening price of $4,644. Gold slipped slightly lower in early trading, moving down to $4,527.60 as of 6:32 a.m. ET.
Silver (SI=F) July futures opened at $73.17 per ounce on Tuesday, 4.3% lower compared with Monday’s opening price of $76.45. The price of silver is holding this morning, shifting to $73.22 by 6:32 a.m. ET.
This morning marks the lowest opening price for gold since March 30.
“Project Freedom” didn’t get off to a great start. The U.S. plan to help guide neutral ships through the Strait of Hormuz was met with immediate Iranian backlash, as both sides exchanged attacks.
As of this morning, the truce between the two countries remains intact, but tensions continue to keep oil prices elevated. Brent Crude (BZ=F) was over $114 a barrel at 6:30 a.m. this morning. High oil prices continue to influence the inflation outlook in the U.S. and around the world, making rate hikes more likely the longer this Middle East conflict drags on.
The latest comments from the president suggest the war will drag on for at least another couple of weeks.
Learn more: Who decides what gold is worth? How gold prices are determined.
Current price of gold
The opening price of gold futures on Tuesday was 2.4% lower than Monday’s open. Here’s a look at how the opening gold price has changed versus last week, month, and year:
One week ago: -3.1%
One month ago: -4.8%
One year ago: +39.8%
The precious metal’s one-year gain 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
Silver (SI=F) July futures opened 4.3% lower than Monday’s opening price. Here’s a look at how the opening silver price has changed versus last week, month, and year:
One week ago: -0.1%
One month ago: -0.7%
One year ago: +129.2%
Learn more: How to invest in silver: A beginner’s guide
Risks and considerations for gold investors
Gold has the same high-level risk as any investment: You could lose money. And, as with other investments, a loss on gold can materialize in different ways. Understanding the potential outcomes is the first step to managing your risk when investing in gold.
According to gold experts, would-be gold investors should understand these four risks:
Price
Speculation
Opportunity cost
Fraud
Today, we’ll focus on the first two: price and speculation.
Learn more: How to invest in gold in 7 steps
Price risk
There is a price risk for investors who buy gold when the metal is nearing record high prices. “Buying high to hope for short-term higher is a tough strategy,” said Darrell Fletcher, managing director, commodities at Bannockburn Capital Markets.
Despite the high prices, there are positive dynamics in play for the precious metal. Fletcher pointed out that gold is recovering from decades of low prices, and it’s an increasingly popular diversification asset for central banks and individual investors.
The right expectations, a long timeline, and an appropriate allocation can limit your pricing risk. “Gold should not be seen as a driver of supercharged returns — it’s there to act primarily as a stabilizer in a diversified portfolio,” explained Alex Tsepaev, chief strategy officer of B2PRIME Group.
If you are interested in learning more about gold’s historical value, Yahoo Finance has been tracking the historical price of gold since 2000.
Speculation risk
Thomas Winmill, portfolio manager at Midas Funds, encourages investors to view positions in gold bullion, coins, and ETFs as speculative. Gold is a commodity, and “commodity prices are dependent on macroeconomic, political, industrial, and financial factors that are unpredictable, and in some cases, unknowable.”
Despite its recent performance, gold is an unpredictable asset. Keeping that in mind when making trading decisions could protect you from over-exposure and unrealistic expectations.
Learn more: Thinking of buying gold? Here’s what investors should watch for.
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 silver charts below show the precious metals’ change in value.
More silver coverage from the Yahoo Finance team:
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