Gold Breaks $4,600 as political pressure on Fed drives rally

Gold surged to a record high above $4,600 per ounce on Monday, while silver also reached a fresh peak, as investors flocked to safe-haven assets amid rising uncertainty over a reported Trump administration criminal probe involving U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Spot gold rose 1.7% to $4,584.91 per ounce by 9:30 a.m. ET (1430 GMT), after earlier hitting an all-time high of $4,620. U.S. gold futures for February delivery gained 2.1% to $4,596.70.

“Elevated uncertainty plays directly into the gold market, and every week we seem to have another area of uncertainty added,” said Michael Haigh, global head of commodities research at Societe Generale. He added that the backdrop supporting the rally appeared unlikely to reverse anytime soon.

Gold climbed more than 64% last year, marking its strongest annual performance since 1979, while silver recorded its best year on record, surging 146.8%.

Pressure on the Federal Reserve has intensified after U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration threatened to indict Powell over comments related to a building renovation project—an action Powell has described as a “pretext” to influence interest rate policy.

Powell’s term ends in May, and the Trump administration is expected to interview BlackRock’s Rick Rieder as a potential successor, Fox News reported.

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold interest rates steady at its January 27–28 meeting, after cutting rates by 75 basis points last year. Markets, however, are still pricing in two additional rate cuts later this year, increasing demand for non-yielding assets such as gold.

Geopolitical tensions also remained elevated as Trump weighed potential responses to a deadly crackdown on protests in Iran, following his removal of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and renewed discussion about acquiring Greenland.

Spot silver climbed to a record high of $85.69 per ounce and was later up 5.1% at $84.

“Gold and silver go together,” said Ned Naylor-Leyland, gold and silver fund manager at Jupiter Asset Management, adding that when silver attracts investment flows, it tends to move sharply due to its smaller and more sensitive market.

Meanwhile, platinum rose 1.8% to $2,314.71 per ounce, while palladium gained 1.9% to $1,850.82.

Reporting by Anmol Choubey in Bengaluru.