5 Best Gold ETFs to Buy for 2026

For gold investors, all eyes are on the Federal Reserve meeting this week and the July 29 announcement of an interest rate decision. For now, the central bank is expected to leave rates unchanged and perhaps raise them later in the year, leaving gold in a holding pattern around $4,000 an ounce. “There is real concern that the Fed may need to hike interest rates, and higher rates are not good for gold in the short term.” That’s because gold itself doesn’t pay any interest.

So, when interest rates rise and investors can get more yield on relatively safe government bonds, the opportunity cost of holding the precious metal, also considered a safe-haven investment, rises. “Until we get market clarity, I think we’re in a sideways gold market for the time being,” says Collin Plume, founder and CEO of Noble Gold Investments. That could change if turmoil in the Middle East eases and inflation cools, lessening the rate-hike risk for gold.

Central Banks’ Influence on Gold Prices Beyond current geopolitics, a longer-term trend affecting gold prices has been central bank buying. “Central banks have become the most important force in the gold market, and their motivation is very different from an investor chasing a hedge; they want reserves that no foreign government can touch,” says Patrice Mesnier, founding partner of Oldenburg Capital Partners. “In 2022, the West froze Russia’s reserves, and every central bank in the world watched it happen,” Mesnier says.

“In the wake of that policy, many have been quietly shifting a portion of their savings out of dollars and into gold ever since.” Last year, central banks bought 863 metric tons of gold, even as prices hit record highs, according to the World Gold Council, a gold industry trade group. In each of the previous three years, these institutions bought more than 1,000 metric tons. That compares to an average of 470 metric tons per year from 2010 to 2021.

“Down about 20% in the last six months, but unchanged in the last one month, gold prices have likely been recen…