Gold (GC=F) futures opened at $4,124 per ounce on Tuesday, up 0.3% from Monday’s close of $4,111.80. The price of gold was up as high as $4,155 in early trading.

Gold’s latest surge follows news that lawmakers may be nearing a deal that would end the government shutdown. The shutdown paused government spending and the flow of economic data the Fed uses to make interest rate decisions. A private report last week indicated that U.S employers had cut more than 150,000 jobs in October, compared to about 54,000 layoffs in October, 2024. The numbers renewed concerns about the health of the labor market. Weaker jobs data already prompted two interest rate cuts earlier this year. If fresh government data confirms a layoff trend, the Fed is more likely to implement a third quarter-point rate reduction in December.

Lower interest rates benefit gold by reducing the income available from competing assets like cash.

Learn more: While the job market sputters, seasonal hiring offers a lifeline

The opening price of gold futures on Tuesday was up 0.3% from Monday’s close. Here’s a look at how the opening gold price has changed versus last week, month, and year:

One week ago: +3.2%

One month ago: +4.2%

One year ago: +54.4%

On Oct. 30, gold’s one-year gain had dipped to 42.1%.

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.

Want to learn more about the current top-performing companies in the gold industry? Explore a list of the top-performing companies in the gold industry using the Yahoo Finance Screener. You can create your own screeners with over 150 different screening criteria.

Learn more: Gold vs. crypto: Which should investors own in debasement trade?

Gold has the same high-level risk as any investment: You could lose money. And, as with other investments, a loss on gold can materialize in different ways. Understanding the potential outcomes is the first step to managing your risk when investing in gold.

According to gold experts, would-be gold investors should understand these four risks:

Price

Speculation

Opportunity cost

Fraud

Today, we’ll focus on the first two: price and speculation.

Learn more: How to invest in gold in 4 steps

There is a price risk for investors who buy gold when the metal is nearing record high prices. “Buying high to hope for short-term higher is a tough strategy,” said Darrell Fletcher, managing director, commodities at Bannockburn Capital Markets.

Despite the high prices, there are positive dynamics in play for the precious metal. Fletcher pointed out that gold is recovering from decades of low prices, and it’s an increasingly popular diversification asset for central banks and individual investors.

The right expectations, a long timeline, and an appropriate allocation can limit your pricing risk. “Gold should not be seen as a driver of supercharged returns — it’s there to act primarily as a stabilizer in a diversified portfolio,” explained Alex Tsepaev, chief strategy officer of B2PRIME Group.

If you are interested in learning more about gold’s historical value, Yahoo Finance has been tracking the historical price of gold since 2000.

Thomas Winmill, portfolio manager at Midas Funds, encourages investors to view positions in gold bullion, coins, and ETFs as speculative. Gold is a commodity, and “commodity prices are dependent on macroeconomic, political, industrial, and financial factors that are unpredictable, and in some cases, unknowable.”

Despite its recent performance, gold is an unpredictable asset. Keeping that in mind when making trading decisions could protect you from over-exposure and unrealistic expectations.

Learn more: Thinking of buying gold? Here's what investors should watch for.

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.