And by it, I mean smash into new record-high territory.

The yellow metal reached a new all-time high of US$2,830.74 (AU$4,552.50) per ounce overnight, surpassing its previous all-time high, which was only set on Friday.

What's driving the gold price to new records?

The biggest new push to send the gold price to fresh all-time highs comes from President Donald Trump.

Gold's classic safe haven status tends to attract interest in times of uncertainty, and Trump is dishing out plenty of uncertainty.

The US President swiftly followed through with his tariff threats against Canada, Mexico and China, fuelling fears of a global trade war. Adding more ambiguity into the mix, Trump also signalled that the European Union is in his tariff crosshairs.

With Trump now having said he'll pause the tariffs on Mexico for a month to open the door to negotiations, the gold price has retraced a touch from its all-time high. It's currently trading for US$2,813.84 per ounce.

What are the experts saying?

Commenting on the surging gold price, Bart Melek, global head of commodity strategy at TD Securities, said (quoted by Bloomberg):

We could envision a situation where inflation migrates higher, while the economy slows down as the auto sector grinds to a sudden halt, for example. Higher inflation and low rates, and the associated angst with the president's imposition of tariffs, so uncertainty and risk are helping gold.

And according to analysts at the Bank of Montreal:

These tariffs create a strong tailwind for gold. Not only because of their inherent inflationary effects but also as the USA's increasingly hawkish foreign policy may accelerate de-dollarisation plans.

How to play a fast-rising gold price

Atop buying and holding physical bullion, which requires secure, long-term storage plans (No, not a treasure map and a shovel!), there are three ways investors can benefit from a rising gold price.

The first is by investing in a gold exchange-traded fund (ETF), like the ETFS Metal Securities Australia Limited (ASX: GOLD).

ETFs like GOLD aim to track the price movements of physical gold in Aussie dollars. Over the past 12 months, this gold-tracking ETF has gained 44.8%.

A second way to play the fast-rising gold price is to invest in a gold miners' ETF. The VanEck Gold Miners ETF (ASX: GDX), for example, invests in a broad basket of global gold miners. Gold stocks from Canada, the US, and Australia make up the top three geographic locations.

The ETF's top three holdings are S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) listed gold stock Newmont Corp (ASX: NEM), Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd (NYSE: AEM), and Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE: GOLD).

Now, if you're ready to do a bit more research, the third way to potentially make outsized gains from a rising gold price is to invest in individual gold stocks.

Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) shares, for example, have gained 29.2% over 12 months. Meanwhile, rival ASX 200 mining stock Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) has seen its share price rocket by 85.8% in a year.

The post 3 ways to target big gains as the gold price soars to new record highs appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.