Gold outshines all, emerges as Pakistan’s best-performing asset in 2025

Gold dominated Pakistan’s asset landscape in 2025, emerging as the best-performing investment as both domestic and international prices posted sharp gains over the year.

In Pakistan, gold delivered an exceptional 73% return in PKR terms, Topline Securities revealed in its report, with prices rising from Rs233,711 per 10 grams at the start of the year to Rs405,402 per 10 grams by late December.

“In the international market, gold prices also increased from $2,612 per ounce on December 31, 2024, to $4,503 per ounce on December 26, 2025,” read the report.

The surge is driven by strong investor demand amid geopolitical risks and shifting interest rate expectations, allowing gold to emerge as the top-performing asset class in Pakistan during the outgoing year.

The Pakistan stock market was next on the list, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index delivering the second-largest increase among the asset classes, rising by 48%, said Topline.

“This gain is inclusive of dividends received during this period,” it added.

Analysts said the stock performance was due to improved macroeconomic stability, easing inflationary pressures, and sustained domestic liquidity.

Meanwhile, Naya Pakistan PKR certificate under the Roshan Digital Account (RDA) generated a return of 22% in 2025, said Topline. “To highlight, rates were revised later in March 2025 to 13%. While Naya Pakistan US$ certificate earned a return of 10%,” it added.

The country’s real estate sector, which has historically been one of the preferred investment options in Pakistan, also delivered high returns.

“Commercial and residential plot prices of DHA Karachi and DHA Lahore on average increased by 18% and 15%, respectively,” said Topline, while citing data provided by  Zameen.com. “While house prices in DHA Karachi and DHA Lahore on average increased by 8%,” it added.

On the other hand, investments in the US dollar, another preferred investment avenue, offered lacklustre returns in 2025.

“Similar to 2024, returns on the US dollar remained at 1%, as the interbank exchange rate increased from Rs278 to Rs280. Similarly, in the open market, the US dollar increased from Rs280 to Rs281.

“However, if this amount had been invested in a 1-year term deposit at the beginning of the year, the gain would have been 3-4%, assuming a return of 2-3% on US dollar deposits,” added the report.

The trend indicated a clear shift among investors toward safe-haven and risk assets, with gold and equities significantly outperforming traditional fixed-income instruments amid monetary easing.