Gold, silver surge as ‘assault on Fed’ sparks rush to precious metals
Gold, silver jumped to new highs after Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned that “threats and ongoing pressure” from the Trump administration are jeopardizing the central bank’s independence. REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth/File Photo · Reuters / Reuters
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Gold and silver surged to new all-time intraday highs on Monday after Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned that “threats and ongoing pressure” from the Trump administration are jeopardizing the central bank’s independence.
Gold futures climbed 2% to rise above $4,600 per troy ounce, while silver rose above $84 per ounce following Powell’s video released on Sunday, in which he said a potential indictment from the Department of Justice over his testimony about headquarters renovations comes amid a “broader context of the administration’s threats and ongoing pressure.”
The move in gold, silver, platinum, and palladium comes as the US dollar weakened alongside equities.
“If you’re wondering why people are buying precious metals at all-time highs, the assault on the Fed is a reminder,” Robin Brooks, a senior fellow in the global economy and development program at the Brookings Institution, said on X on Monday morning.
“That’s a deeply destabilizing event that’s feeding safe haven demand,” he added.
The move comes on the heels of a winning week for precious metals after the United States captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and made threats to take Greenland through negotiation or “the hard way.”
Gold and silver entered 2026 with gains, building on their historic rally last year.
Foreign central banks have been purchasing gold at a record clip in recent years, recently breaching a new threshold by holding more bullion than US Treasuries for the first time since 1996.
“Gold is no longer moving solely as a hedge against inflation or dollar weakness, but increasingly as protection against geopolitical disorder and the reshaping of global power dynamics,” Rania Gule, senior market analyst at XS.com, said on Monday.
Meanwhile silver has outperformed gold throughout 2025 and into the new year.
China restricted silver exports at the start of this year, and analysts point to a deficit given the metal’s industrial uses amid an AI and reshoring boom.
“But care must be taken if chasing prices higher as the risks of a sharp correction only increase as silver makes fresh highs,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation.