03/21/2026
Buy time?
Gold just had its worst week in 43 years.
After hitting an all time high of $5,589 per ounce in January, gold has crashed to around $4,551. That's an 18.5% drop in less than two months.
So what happened to the ultimate safe haven asset?
Three things hit at the same time.
First, the Federal Reserve held rates steady this week and signaled a hawkish outlook. Higher rates make gold less attractive because it doesn't pay any income. When bonds yield more, gold has to compete harder for investor dollars.
Second, the war in the Middle East is doing something counterintuitive. Instead of sending investors into gold, the oil shock from the conflict is reigniting inflation fears. And inflation fears mean the Fed stays tighter for longer. Which brings us back to point one.
Third, the dollar is surging. Gold is priced in dollars so a stronger dollar makes gold more expensive for international buyers, reducing demand.
Here's the part worth understanding before you panic or celebrate.
Gold surged 65% in 2025. Even after this drop it's still up massively year over year. J.P. Morgan's year end target is $6,300. Deutsche Bank is at $6,000. Neither has changed those targets.
This looks like a correction inside a bull market, not the end of the gold story.
But it's a reminder of something every investor needs to understand. No asset goes straight up forever. Not gold. Not stocks. Not real estate.
Corrections are part of every market. The question is always whether the long term thesis still holds.
For gold right now, most of the big banks think it does.
