Gold, which rose 2% this week to reach $3,357 an ounce Friday, could potentially climb to $4,000 an ounce in the next six to nine months, according to the State Street Global Advisors Gold 2025 Midyear Outlook.

Gold may even test the $5,000/oz. range in the next 12-24 months, according to SSGA.

Volatility in the markets — fueled by the Trump trade war, U.S. debt, and a weaker U.S. dollar — coupled with continued central bank purchasing of gold, are four of the main drivers of gold’s appreciation, according to Aakash Doshi, State Street’s head of gold strategy.

“The early days of the Trump administration have corresponded with heightened U.S. economic uncertainty, consumer anxiety, and a weaker U.S. dollar — buttressing investor demand for gold as a tail risk and geoeconomic hedge,” Doshi wrote in the midyear gold report.

“The post-pandemic period has been especially rife with structural shifts that remain unresolved,” Doshi continued, noting that since the World Health Organization declared the global coronavirus pandemic on March 11, 2020, gold has risen 98%.

In the first five months of 2025 alone, gold has risen 25%.

Institutional and retail investors alike are gravitating to gold as a low-volatility, portfolio-diversifying safe haven, according to the asset management firm.

Until there is clarity on the global trade war, inflation, U.S. political and military retrenchment, the $36.2 trillion U.S. deficit, and the U.S. dollar, the State Street gold strategists note, gold will continue to be an attractive alternative investment.

“In this environment, gold has the potential to stand out as a resilient store of value because it has no liability, does not depend on repayment, and does not require yield to justify its role in a portfolio,” Doshi said.