The precious metal has more than doubled in price since 2023, gaining renewed popularity amid rising inflation and geopolitical tensions

Gold could soar to $10,000 per ounce as it regains popularity as a safe haven amid inflation and global tensions, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has predicted.

The precious metal, long viewed as a hedge against inflation and currency declines thanks to its independence from governments and central banks, broke the historic $4,000 mark earlier this month and has continued to climb. It was up 58% year-to-date to a record $4,218.29 on Wednesday - more than double its 2023 price, when it traded below $2,000 an ounce.

"I'm not a gold buyer - it costs 4% to own it," Dimon said at Fortune's Most Powerful Women conference in Washington on Tuesday. "But it could easily go to $5,000 or even $10,000 in environments like this."

He noted that the global economy faces multiple headwinds, including US tariffs, widening deficits, inflation, a shift toward AI, and geopolitical tensions such as remilitarization, prompting investors to turn to gold to pare risks.

Dimon avoided commenting on whether gold is overvalued, but said it is "one of the few times in my life it's semi-rational to have some in your portfolio."

Other market experts have voiced similar opinions. Billionaire Ray Dalio on Tuesday said he sees gold as an "excellent diversifier of the portfolio" at a time of rising government debt burdens, geopolitical tensions, and the loss of confidence in the stability of national currencies.

"So if you were to look at just from the strategic asset allocation mix perspective, you would probably have as the optimal mix something like 15% of your portfolio in gold," Dalio stated. A Bank of America survey in October found that 43% of fund managers see betting on gold prices rising as the most popular trade in the world, ahead of investing in the "Magnificent Seven" US tech giants (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla).

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Citadel hedge fund founder Ken Griffin recently noted that investors are increasingly viewing gold as safer than the US dollar, long considered a global reserve asset. The greenback has weakened against every major currency this year following uncertainty over US President Donald Trump's tariff hikes.

(RT.com)