Gold Blows Past $4,600 as Powell Probe and Global Tensions Spark Safe-Haven Stampede

With input from Reuters, CNBC, and Forbes.

Gold is on an absolute tear.

The yellow metal smashed through $4,600 an ounce on Monday, hitting a fresh all-time high as investors rushed into safe havens amid growing uncertainty around the Federal Reserve, the Trump administration and rising geopolitical tensions. Silver joined the party too, surging to a record of its own.

Spot gold jumped about 2.5% to $4,620 an ounce by late morning in New York, after briefly touching a peak of $4,627. US gold futures climbed even higher, up nearly 3% at around $4,631.

Silver was even more dramatic. Prices spiked almost 7%, hitting an all-time high of $85.75 an ounce before easing slightly.

What’s driving the rush? A toxic mix of political pressure on the Fed, uncertainty over interest rates and a long list of global flashpoints.

At the center of it all is the Trump administration’s escalating confrontation with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Federal prosecutors are probing Powell over a costly renovation of the Fed’s Washington headquarters and his testimony to Congress — a move Powell has described as a “pretext” tied to White House pressure for deeper rate cuts.

That uncertainty is rattling markets and pushing investors toward hard assets.

“Every week we seem to get another layer of uncertainty,” said Michael Haigh, global head of commodities research at Société Générale. “That plays directly into gold.”

Powell’s term ends in May, and speculation is already swirling about his replacement. Reports suggest BlackRock executive Rick Rieder is among those being considered. Meanwhile, markets expect the Fed to hold rates steady later this month, but traders are still betting on two rate cuts later this year — a scenario that tends to favor non-yielding assets like gold.

Geopolitics are adding more fuel. Tensions are simmering as Trump weighs responses to unrest in Iran, following the US removal of Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro, and even floats controversial ideas like acquiring Greenland.

Gold and silver have already been on a historic run. Gold surged more than 64% last year — its best performance since 1979 — while silver posted a staggering gain of nearly 147%.

And when silver catches investor attention, it really moves.

“Gold and silver go together,” said Ned Naylor-Leyland, a fund manager at Jupiter Asset Management. “But silver is a smaller market, so when money flows in, it really runs.”

Other precious metals followed suit. Platinum climbed more than 3% to around $2,352 an ounce, while palladium gained roughly the same to about $1,876.

With Fed independence under scrutiny, interest-rate uncertainty lingering and global tensions piling up, investors are clearly betting that the safe-haven trade still has room to run.