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Gold rose to a record high and the dollar weakened on Monday after US prosecutors launched a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell, stoking concerns about the central bank’s independence.
The metal climbed as much as 2 per cent to $4,600 a troy ounce, while the dollar weakened 0.2 per cent against a basket of major currencies.
Futures tracking US stocks also declined, with those of the S&P 500 down 0.6 per cent and the Nasdaq 100 shedding 1 per cent. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed 0.01 percentage point to 4.18 per cent.
Richard Yetsenga, chief economist and head of research at ANZ, said the move higher in gold was down to investors looking for haven assets.
“The immediate market focus is likely to be on concerns regarding the administration’s influence over the Fed’s policy independence,” said Tai Hui, chief Asia-Pacific market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management.
Powell on Sunday said the Fed had received grand jury subpoenas and a threat of criminal indictment from the justice department relating to his testimony before Congress about a $2.5bn renovation of the central bank’s headquarters.
The fresh high for gold also comes as rising geopolitical tensions fuel demand for the metal.
Just over a week after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, Donald Trump said he was considering military operations in Iran over the regime’s crackdown on nationwide protests.
Gold pared some of its early advances to trade at $4,582, still higher than the previous record of $4,549 set at the end of 2025.
The DoJ probe into Powell follows a campaign from the Trump administration to force the Fed to cut interest rates more aggressively despite lingering concerns over reigniting inflation.
Most Asian stock markets rose on Monday, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gaining 1.2 per cent and mainland China’s CSI 300 rising 0.6 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.4 per cent.