Gold broke through $5 300 for the first time on Wednesday as the dollar plunged to a near four-year low, ahead of a Federal Reserve monetary policy decision.

Spot gold climbed 2.3% to $5 305.65 per ounce, as of 08:32 GMT, after hitting a record high of $5 311.31. It has gained more than 20% since the start of the year.

US gold futures for February delivery surged 4.3% to $5,301.90 per ounce.

The US dollar was grappling with a "crisis of confidence" as it languished near four-year lows, exacerbating dollar selling, after President Donald Trump said the currency's value is "great" when asked whether he thought it had declined too much. 

A weaker dollar makes greenback-priced bullion more attractive to overseas buyers.

"(Gold's rise) is due to the very strong indirect correlation with the dollar and ... Trump's remark to a casual question about the dollar, which implied that (there is) a broad-based consensus within the White House to have a weaker greenback going forward," said Kelvin Wong, a senior market analyst at OANDA.

Trump also said that he will soon announce his pick to serve as head of the Fed, and predicted interest rates would decline once the new chair takes over.

"Given the tension between the Fed's mandates and the White House, I think the markets are just getting defensive ahead of (Fed Chair Jerome Powell's remarks later today)," Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive said.

The Fed is widely expected to hold rates steady at its January monetary policy meeting, currently underway. 

Gold, which does not yield interest, typically performs well in a low-interest-rate environment.

Deutsche Bank said on Tuesday that gold could climb to $6,000 per ounce in 2026, citing persistent investment demand as central banks and investors increase allocations to non-dollar and tangible assets.

Spot silver was up 1.5% at $114.68 an ounce, after hitting a record high of $117.69 on Monday. The metal has jumped almost 60% so far this year.

Spot platinum gained 2.3% to $2 703.11 per ounce after hitting a record $2 918.80 on Monday, while palladium was up 2.2% at $1 976.62.