MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Tariffs continue to roil stock markets. The S& P 500 and Nasdaq today ended their worst quarters in almost three years. Another kind of investment is booming, though - the price of gold. It hit an all-time high today, and analysts expect to keep on soaring. NPR financial correspondent Maria Aspan is here to help us understand why. Hey there.

MARIA ASPAN, BYLINE: Hey, Mary Louise.

KELLY: Hi. So gold at an all-time high today? What’s the latest?

ASPAN: Well, the price of gold has been rising for a couple of years now, but it’s really hit a hot streak since the beginning of this year. A single ounce of gold now costs more than $3,100. That’s a record high, and some analysts are predicting that it’s going to keep going up. There are a few reasons behind this, but the primary reason is what’s going on elsewhere in the financial markets and the economy.

KELLY: And just explain that. Explain the link.

ASPAN: Well, President Trump’s tariffs, they’re causing huge uncertainty, as you know, among investors and businesses. They’re also sparking widespread fears about higher prices for consumers and the increasing potential for a recession. And that’s making people want to buy into something that’s seen as a safe haven, like gold. I called up Bank of America’s Michael Widmer, who put out a very bullish report on gold last week. He gave a lot of credit to the ongoing tariffs drama.

MICHAEL WIDMER: It’s those tensions, the uncertainty about economic policies or the policy uncertainty that has really been supportive for the gold market.

ASPAN: So he’s betting that as long as that uncertainty continues, the price of gold will continue to go up.

KELLY: And how certain are we about that? Is gold a safer investment?

ASPAN: Well, Widmer also points out that gold can definitely be volatile. It’s been on a rally recently, but what goes up can always go back down. That said, gold does have this reputation for what’s known as the Fear Trade. It’s tangible. It has value in and of itself. And so in times of crisis, gold is often perceived as safer than stocks. I talked about this with Lee Baker, who runs Claris Financial Advisors in Atlanta.

LEE BAKER: When it seems like the world is going to hell in a handbasket, gold usually appreciates.

ASPAN: That said, he warned that there can be downsides to buying and owning gold, even in times of crisis.

KELLY: OK, so before we all go out and buy a little lump gold and put it under our mattress, what is the case against doing that?

ASPAN: Yeah, I mean, that’s exactly what I asked Baker. Should I go out and buy gold? And he told me to slow my roll.

BAKER: If you’re buying gold right now just because you’re caught up in the buzz, because it’s going up, I’d probably say leave it alone because it’s likely to lead to some form of disappointment.

ASPAN: He pointed out that unlike stocks or bonds, gold doesn’t pay any dividends or interest, and it can be complicated to own. There are ways to invest in gold-related funds without actually going out and buying physical gold. But if you do want to hoard some gold bars, you have to think about things like insurance and home security. And again, there’s just no guarantee that any one investment is always going to go up. So there’s no silver bullet - or, in this case, gold bullet - that can protect you from everything that’s happening in the economy and the wider world.

KELLY: Platinum bullet - I am holding out for the platinum bullet.

(LAUGHTER)

KELLY: NPR’s Maria Aspan, thank you.

ASPAN: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.