Gold hits record $4,600 an ounce as US prosecutors target Fed’s Powell

Gold broke through $4,600/ounce for the first time on Monday, while silver also hit a record high, as ‍investors snapped up ‌safe-haven assets due to heightened geopolitical uncertainties and a criminal probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome ‍Powell.

Spot gold jumped 1.4% to $4,572.36 per ounce by 0619 GMT. Bullion hit a record high of $4,600.33 earlier in the day.

US gold futures for February delivery firmed 1.8% to $4,583.20.

“So, between ‍events in Iran, and potential US involvement, and the (Fed) chair being the focus of ‍a criminal probe... US futures turned lower on the Powell news, which was a green light for gold to take a run higher,” said Tim Waterer, KCM Trade’s chief market analyst.

The dollar and Wall Street futures dropped and gold jumped on Monday as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the Trump administration had threatened him with a criminal indictment over the refurbishment of the central bank’s headquarters.

This escalated worries about the Fed’s independence from political influence to a ‍new level and added ‌to a frenetic start to 2026, which has already seen the US capture Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro and ramp up talk of taking control of Greenland. S&P 500 futures ‍fell more than 0.5%, while safe-haven gold - which investors buy as hedge against both turmoil and inflation - hit another record high as money markets priced in a slightly higher chance of short-term US interest rate cuts.

Europe opened with a modest 0.2% dip from record highs too. The Swiss franc - another classic safe-haven - strengthened 0.6% to 0.796 per ‍dollar and the euro was 0.4% firmer at $1.168. “The latest development marks a significant escalation in the fight between President Trump and Fed Chair Powell,” MUFG’s Lee Hardman said, ‍adding that “the repeated attacks on the Fed’s independence” continued to pose downside risks for the dollar.

Fed funds futures have added in about three basis points more in cuts this year, which is small but points to the risk that the Fed gets pushed into being more aggressive.

Gold struck a record high of more than $4,600 an ounce, also buoyed by rising geopolitical tensions around Iran, although oil prices saw little reaction.

Trump said on Sunday he was weighing a range of strong responses, including military options, to a violent crackdown on Iranian protests which pose one of the biggest challenges to country’s clerical rule since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran’s ‌Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Monday via English translation that the situation was “under total control”.

Brent crude futures lost 9 cents to sit ‍at just over $63 a barrel in early London trading, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $59.02 a barrel, down 10 cents. Both benchmarks rose more than 3% last week in their biggest such increase since October, as Iran’s clerical establishment stepped up its crackdown on the demonstrations.

While a premium has formed in oil prices in ​recent days, the market is still underestimating the risk given a wider conflict could affect the Strait of Hormuz, Saul Kavonic, head of energy research at MST Marquee said. “The market is saying, ‘Show me the disruption to supply’, before materially responding,” he added.

Reuters