Gold (GC=F) December futures opened at $4,473.40 per troy ounce on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, nearly flat with Monday’s closing price. The price of gold is down this morning at $4,447.20 per troy ounce as of 9:10 a.m. ET.
Rising Treasury yields are pressuring the gold price as peace talks with Iran show little progress. The 10-year Treasury benchmark (^TNX) is 4.72%, nearly a one-year high, after President Trump’s son-in-law and special envoy Jared Kushner indicated Iran was unwilling to compromise to U.S. demands. The British military reported Tuesday that a vessel was struck by “an unknown projectile” in the Strait of Hormuz, a sign of continued violence. President Trump then suggested on Truth Social that the Strait of Hormuz become a U.S. territory.
The U.S. and Iran had previously signed a 60-day memorandum of understanding to allow time for negotiations, but that agreement has now expired. The war’s uncertain timeline is prompting safe-haven demand for U.S. Treasuries, which increases the holding cost of owning non-yielding gold.
Current price of gold
The opening price of gold futures on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, was flat with Monday’s closing price. Here’s a look at how the opening gold price has changed versus last week, month, and year:
One week ago: +1.5%
One month ago: +12.5%
One year ago: +34.2%
For context, the one-year gain for gold was 95.6% on Jan. 29.
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.
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Learn more: Who decides what gold is worth? How gold prices are determined.
Risks and considerations for gold investors
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 7 steps
Price risk
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…
Source: finance.yahoo.com
