Gold () futures opened at $4,363.60 per troy ounce Friday, largely unchanged from Thursday’s closing price of $4,364.50. The price of gold has increased by 69% over the past year.
A better-than-expected CPI inflation report for November is in focus as traders analyze what the numbers mean for interest rates in 2026. Prices rose 2.7% in November. Analysts had expected a 3.1% increase following a 3% increase in September. because data collection was interrupted by the government shutdown. Since there was no data available for October, the report did not include the usual month-to-month comparisons — leaving a blind spot for analysts on category-level price trends.
The price of gold has a complex relationship with inflation. Gold has performed well in high-inflation periods, but not consistently. The yellow metal does typically respond positively to falling interest rates, however.
The opening price of gold futures Friday was nearly the same as Thursday’s close. Here’s a look at how the gold price has changed versus last week, month, and year:
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One week ago: +2%
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One month ago: +6.8%
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One year ago: +69%
The one-year gain is the highest this value has been in the second half of 2025.
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.
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Learn more: Gold vs. crypto: Which should investors own in debasement trade?
A gold investment can add stability and inflation protection to your portfolio. But it can also dilute your gains when stock prices are rising quickly. Finding the right balance between gold’s diversification benefits and profiting from growth potential in other assets can be challenging.
Even the experts are divided on how to achieve the correct balance. Below, five experts explain their recommended gold allocations, which range from 0% to 20%.
Robert R. Johnson, professor at Creighton University’s Heider College of Business, does not advocate gold investing. In his words, “while having a small position in precious metals may dampen portfolio volatility in the short-run, the tradeoff between slightly dampened volatility and the lost long-term return is certainly not a prudent one, particularly for Gen Z/millennials with long investing time horizons.”
Brett Elliott, director of content and SEO at American Precious Metals Exchange (APMEX), recommends setting an allocation that aligns with your investing goals.
Growth-oriented investors may be comfortable with an allocation of 10% or 15%, according to Elliott. But income investors will prefer a smaller position, because gold provides no yield. A 2% to 5% gold allocation can provide some resiliency without an excessive drag on income potential.
Blake McLaughlin, executive vice president at Axcap Ventures, said historical data support a gold allocation of 5% to 8%. “Gold may not offer the outsized return potential of private investments, but the metal holds a set of attributes that are increasingly hard to ignore,” according to McLaughlin. Those attributes include the metal’s resilience amid economic uncertainty and geopolitical unrest.
Thomas Winmill, portfolio manager at Midas Funds, believes most investors will benefit from a long-term gold allocation of 5% to 15%. Winmill specifically advocates investing in through a mutual fund.
Your risk tolerance and current mix of financial versus hard assets can guide you to an appropriate allocation, according to Winmill.
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Risk tolerance. Keep your allocation percentage low if you tend to panic in volatile cycles.
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Financial vs. hard assets. Financial assets are stocks and bonds. Hard assets include tangible items like real estate, gold, collectibles, classic cars, and equipment. If you have no home equity and your wealth is primarily in financial assets, you can set your gold allocation higher. Or, if your home is paid for and more valuable than your stock portfolio, gold investing may not be necessary.
Vince Stanzione, CEO and founder at First Information, recommends a 20% gold allocation, specifically in physical gold or a gold ETF. Stanzione argues for a higher exposure to gold as a wealth protection strategy. As he says, “gold keeps with inflation and gold retains its purchasing power,” while paper currencies are devaluing around the world.
Whether you’re tracking the price of gold since last month or last year, the price-of-gold chart below shows the precious metal’s steady upward climb in value.
