The price of gold, considered a safe-haven asset in times of uncertainty, reached new all-time highs above $4,630 per ounce this Monday, as did silver, which reaffirmed its record above $86. At 17:18 local time (16:18 GMT), the price of gold marked its latest all-time high, quoting at $4,630.21, after a 2.65% rise. Similarly, silver also hit a new record on Monday. At 17:34, with a strong increase of 7.74%, it stood at $86.15. The rise in gold and silver prices comes as the market remains on edge due to geopolitical tensions and after concerns about the independence of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) have increased. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said on Sunday that he is facing a federal investigation related to his testimony before Congress last June regarding the multi-billion dollar renovation of the central bank's headquarters. Powell has denounced that the threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Fed's refusal to cut interest rates as wanted by U.S. President Donald Trump. XTB analyst Manuel Pinto pointed out that although 'the focus is on the renovation of the Fed's headquarters, the background is the political pressure derived from its interest rate decisions, which reopens the debate on the central bank's independence'. Likewise, the expert explains that the 'immediate market reaction' to this news has been a temporary stock market fall, the strengthening of safe-haven assets such as gold and silver, and the weakness of the dollar. In this regard, Julius Baer analysts also agree that both gold and silver have reacted to this news with price increases.
