On the 20th, in front of the price board at the Korea Gold Exchange in Jongno-gu, Seoul, an employee displays a gold bar. Reporter Han Su-Bin

International gold prices have surpassed USD 5,000 per ounce for the first time on record.

According to Bloomberg, as of 8:26 a.m. on the 26th, the international spot price of gold was trading at USD 5,022, crossing the USD 5,000 mark. Silver prices also recently broke above USD 100 per ounce for the first time ever. Gold has surged more than 15% just this month. Over the past two years, it has more than doubled.

Amid the Greenland incident, the attack on Venezuela, and other moves by U.S. President Donald Trump that have thrown the international situation into turmoil, macro-level risk sentiment has intensified, pushing gold higher. As a safe-haven asset, gold tends to rise when geopolitical uncertainty increases.

As President Trump has attacked the Federal Reserve (the Fed), central bank independence has come under threat, and expectations that the Fed chair to be nominated this year will be proactive about cutting interest rates are also lifting gold. With limited supply that helps preserve its value, gold typically strengthens when currency values plunge or during rate-cut cycles.