Should You Invest in Gold in Singapore? A Practical Guide (2026)

TL;DR: Gold is up 80% in a year. Central banks bought 863 tonnes in 2025 alone. Governments are printing money to cover their debts, which weakens currencies over time. Gold is the hedge. Consider 5-15% of your portfolio.

Gold went from $2,900 to $5,200 an ounce in a year.

If you're like most people I talk to in Singapore, you probably haven't thought much about gold. We default to property, stocks, CPF. Gold feels like something your grandparents kept in a drawer.

But something structural is happening, and the numbers back it up. Global gold demand just broke 5,000 tonnes for the first time. Gold ETF inflows hit their second strongest year on record. Central banks have been buying 800+ tonnes a year for four years straight.

Gold is not a gamble. It's money.

JP Morgan said it over a century ago: "Gold is money. Everything else is credit."

Gold is the second largest reserve currency in the world. Central banks hold it. Countries hold it. Once you see gold as money and not a trade, the price movements start making a lot more sense.

You're not watching gold go up. You're watching currencies go down.

When gold goes from $2,900 to $5,200, our first thought is "gold got expensive."

Flip it. What if currencies just went down?

Chicken rice used to be $2.50. Now it's $5-6. The food didn't get fancier. Your money just buys less. Gold makes that visible.

Even our SGD loses purchasing power over time. That's just how fiat money works.

Why central banks are buying gold and selling Treasuries

Two reasons:

The debt maths is breaking. Major economies are spending more than they earn. The gap gets covered by printing money. Every time they do this, the currency weakens. This isn't doomsday talk. It's just maths.

Trust between countries is fraying. When Western nations froze Russia's reserves overnight, every central bank noticed. Gold can't be frozen. It can't be sanctioned. As Ray Dalio put it: "Gold is the one asset you can have that's not somebody else's liability."

This keeps happening throughout history

1933: Roosevelt takes the US off gold. Money printing follows. 1971: Nixon does the same thing. Stagflation and gold going from $35 to $800 through the 1970s.

The pattern: debt builds, gets unsustainable, governments print their way out, currency weakens, gold rises. We're in that cycle right now.

The practical answer: 5-15% of your portfolio

A 5-15% gold allocation acts as insurance. During rough periods (1930s, 1970s, 2008), gold does well when everything else doesn't. The point isn't to get rich from gold. It's to not be fully exposed when things get bumpy.

For Singaporeans:

• CPF (SA/OA) as your conservative base
• Stocks and ETFs for growth
• Property for stability
• 5-15% in gold as your hedge

You can start through SGX gold ETFs, bank gold savings accounts (UOB, OCBC), or physical gold.

Want to see how your investments could grow? Try the Investment Growth Calculator to project your returns over time, check the Tax Relief Calculator to maximise your tax savings before investing, or take the free quiz to see how financially ready you are overall.

Not sure which vehicle is right for you, or whether gold has a place in your current portfolio? Book a chat and I'll help you figure out what makes sense for your situation.

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Sources: World Gold Council, Gold Demand Trends Full Year 2025; Ray Dalio, All-In Podcast (Mar 2026)