Today's Gold Prices: January 21, 2026
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Today’s gold prices see the precious metal move up from yesterday.
Here are today’s gold futures prices and a quick snapshot of where gold was yesterday, and overall trends:
- Gold futures open today, Jan. 21: $4,867.36 per troy ounce
- Gold futures closed yesterday, Jan. 20: $4,765.80 per troy ounce
- Percent change: Up 2.13%
- Last five-day change: Gold has risen 5.92% in the last five days.
Note: These prices fluctuate during the day.
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Gold as part of your portfolio
Gold has historically underperformed the stock market. However, over the past two years, the tables have turned. In both 2024 and 2025, the precious metal gained 28% and 65%, respectively. Over the same period, the S&P 500 gained 25% and 18%, respectively.
But gold should not be viewed as part of a short-term strategy. Rather, it has made its name as a buy-and-hold asset. (See Money’s guide to how to buy gold for more detail.) Because of its weak correlation with the stock market, over time gold has served as a hedge, insulating portfolios against inflation, market volatility and falling interest rates.
For long-term investors who are looking to diversify their holdings, allocating between 5% and 10% of their capital to alternative investments — including safe-have assets like gold — can help reduce overall portfolio risk while providing supplemental upside potential to traditional equity investments.
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How to invest in gold
For those interested in adding gold to their portfolios, there are a number of pathways to achieve that. Physical gold ownership can complement a retirement savings plan through gold IRAs — we vet the best ones monthly, which you can read here.
Money has also carefully scrutinized numerous online gold dealers that provide free and insured shipping, buyback commitments and secure storage at IRS-approved depositories.
But investing in gold does not require ownership of the physical metal. Investors who are more comfortable with equity markets can gain exposure through gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds.
While gold-backed ETFs and physical gold do not generate yield, the stocks of some gold mining companies pay dividends. Investing in companies — such as AngloGold Ashanti, for example — can provide investors with gold’s appreciation potential as well as income.