Trump's DoJ Attack on the Fed Sends Gold to Record $4600, Silver $85

GOLD rose through $4600 and silver prices hit fresh all-time highs above $85 per Troy ounce on Monday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell accused the Trump administration of harassing him with a criminal investigation solely because he won't cut interest rates as the President wishes, writes Atsuko Whitehouse at BullionVault.

Accused of lying to Congress over the cost of renovations to Fed buildings, "The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President," Powell said in a video released on the Federal Reserve's X account on Sunday.

"I wouldn't even think of doing it that way...I don't know anything about it," Trump said to NBC News of the Department of Justice subpoenas.

Gold prices jumped at this morning's opening in Asia before surging as much as 2.5% in London to touch $4620 per ounce at Monday lunchtime, more than $70 above the spot-market highs set during the Christmas chaos in precious metals pricing.

The yellow metal has already risen 7.0% since the end of 2025. During the first seven sessions in 2025, it rose 2.5% and ended with a 65.0% annual gain – its strongest performance since 1979.

"It's still a Trump world. Continue to expect the impossible/unexpected," says the new 2026 outlook for precious metals from strategist Nicky Shiels at Swiss bullion refiners and finance group MKS Pamp.

"Markets [are] now forced to reprice more US unpredictability, military reach, and political will. [That means] the fundamental lens (demand is not great & global stockpiles are plenty across silver, PGMs, copper) is more than offset by the macro lens (reflation now, debasement, real & strategic assets, war hedges)."

The price of silver, now finding nearly 60% of annual demand from industrial uses, also jumped Monday morning, gaining as much as 7.0% to set a fresh spot market high in London above $85.50 per Troy ounce, exceeding its previous high of 28th December by more than $1.60.

The grey metal has already risen 18.6% this year, compared with 3.4% for the first seven sessions of 2025.

Silver ended last year with its strongest performance in 46 years, giving an annual gain of over 143%.

With Trump and his administration intensifying their "attack on the Federal Reserve by serving it with DOJ subpoenas," says derivatives platform Saxo Bank's commodity strategist Ole Hansen, "[they are] fuelling concerns about central bank independence, inflation, and the safety of the US."

Repeatedly calling Jerome 'Too Late' Powell a "moron" for not cutting interest rates sooner and then more aggressively, President Trump attempted to "fire" Fed governor Lisa Cook in August citing allegations of personal mortgage fraud − a move blocked to date by the appeals and then Supreme Court.

Last week former US Treasury Secretary and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen warned of a rising risk of "long-term fiscal dominance" in the USA, with the Treasury overriding central bank independence to keep borrowing costs low as government debt continues to mount.

The US national debt surpassed $38 trillion last October during a federal government shutdown, marking the fastest-ever 2-month accumulation of a trillion dollars in debt outside of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Trump will name his pick for Powell's replacement as Fed chair next month, his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week, although the President has already pointed to advisor Kevin Hassett and also former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh.

A further three FOMC governors − Michelle Bowman, Christopher Waller, and Stephen Miran − are already Trump appointees, but pundits believe that Powell's public rebuke of the DoJ investigation on Sunday makes it highly likely he will seek to remain on the US central bank's policy-making committee.

The DXY Dollar index, a measure of the US currency's value versus its major peers, today fell nearly 0.5%, while 10-year US Treasury yields – a benchmark rate for government as well as many financial and commercial borrowing costs – edged 3 basis points higher to a 10-month high.

Gold and silver priced in all major currencies including Euros, UK Pounds, Japanese Yen and Chinese Yuan also hit all-time highs on Monday.

On the geopolitical front, the past fortnight's mass protests in Iran were suddenly met with a violent crackdown over the weekend, with at least 544 reported dead and more than 10,000 arrested, as Tehran warned the US and Israel against interfering in the Islamic dictatorship after Trump signalled possible military action.

European countries led by the UK and Germany are meantime discussing a security presence in Greenland to reassure Washington and demonstrate Arctic commitment after Trump repeated his ambitions of annexing the Danish-owned island.

Markets including gold and silver now await the latest US consumer price index (CPI) on Tuesday, plus the producer price index (PPI) and a possible US Supreme Court ruling on the legality of Trump's sweeping global tariffs on Wednesday.