Gold prices hit a record high recently, driven by global uncertainty including geopolitical tensions in Venezuela and Iran, President Trump's repeated calls for the U.S. to take over Greenland, and questions about the Federal Reserve's independence. 

There’s been “a real rupture in the way we think about how the world order, if we want to call it that, functions,” says Daniel McDowell, Maxwell Advisory Board Professor of International Affairs, in the Associated Press article “More consumers are buying or selling gold. What to know about the latest rush and swings in value.” In moments of instability, he explains, buying gold has historically been a sort of “psychological reaction” for some hoping to find a safe place for their money.

Additionally, U.S. allies are pursuing trade deals among themselves and reducing reliance on American markets and the dollar in response to Trump's repeated tariff threats, even after making concessions he previously demanded.

These shifts are driving down the dollar's value and could lead to higher interest rates and prices for Americans, though the White House maintains that Trump remains committed to the dollar's status as the world's reserve currency.

In the Associated Press article “Seeking shelter from Trump’s fury, US trade partners reach deals with each other,” McDowell says, “Trump has shown that he is willing to use foreign countries’ economic dependence on the U.S. as leverage against them in negotiations. As global perceptions of the U.S. are changing, it is only natural that investors— public and private alike—are reconsidering their relationship with the dollar.”

McDowell also spoke with The World about the skyrocketing value of gold against the dollar.