In recent weeks, and particularly this Monday and Tuesday, people have been lining up for hours in the Sydney CBD with one goal in mind: buying some gold.
Now, the price has dropped – and sharply.
Yesterday, Australia woke up to the news that the precious metal had suffered its worst single-day fall since 2013, down a whopping 5.7 per cent in one go.
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The trend continued today, down a further 0.6 per cent overnight.
That's a far cry from the astronomical rise in the price of gold this year, which hit a record high of around $US4380 per ounce, or about $6755 for 31 grams, this week, a more than 55 per cent increase since the start of 2025.
The rise has been particularly evident this month – in the space of just 11 days in October, the price surged by some $US400.
But in just a couple of days, it's slid back to roughly $US4080.
So what's going on?
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Much of gold's rise has been attributed to its status as a safe-haven asset.
With all the geopolitical and economic turmoil this year – Donald Trump's tariffs, wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, persistent global inflation, and the US government shutdown to name but a few examples – investors have flocked to the precious metal.
If there was any tendency to then put the initial plunge down to a potential easing in global tensions, the further drop last night – when the gold price eased again even as Russia made a very public display of its intercontinental missile capabilities – would have dispelled that.
Instead, it may just be a case of the rise reaching its natural peak.
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"There's a classic market adage that goes something like 'when financial news moves from the business pages to the front page, the top is near'," NAB head of FX Strategy Ray Attrill said yesterday.
"Wednesday's correction in the gold (and silver) price might be best seen in this context.
"Given the parabolic nature of the run up since September and the knowledge that much of the latest buying spree has been from retail or other private sector investors via ETFs ($US26 billion worth in September alone), a dash for the profits window was inevitable at some point soon, temporary or otherwise."
Westpac senior economist Pat Bustamante said there are "fears the astronomical rally has been overdone".
"Investors appear to be taking profits given concerns the recent astronomical rally left gold and silver overvalued," he wrote.
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Gold has gone through some temporary – and at times quite sharp – dips throughout the year, including shedding more than $US100 in a day and around $US300 in the space of a month once the initial panic from Trump's "liberation day" tariffs wore off.
It's also still on track for one of its best-ever single-year performances.
"Gold is still up 57 per cent year to date, far outpacing Bitcoin (up 17 per cent) or any of the major global stock indices," Attrill said.
That might not be any great relief to the queues of people who picked some up on Monday, though.
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