Gold prices climbed slightly during Thursday’s Asian trading after United States President Donald Trump said he did not plan to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, while tensions rose between the U.S. and Denmark over Greenland.
Spot gold was up 0.1% to US$4,596.53 per ounce by 3:25 pm AEDT (4:25 am GMT) and had silver increased 2.5% to $88.52. Gold and silver reached record highs during U.S. trading, peaking at $4,641.40 and $92 respectively mark for the first time.
Trump said that he “[doesn’t] have any plan” to fire the Fed chair, despite the Department of Justice opening a criminal probe into Powell this week.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to fire Powell for refusing to rapidly lower interest rates. Central bank heads from 15 countries and institutions voiced support for Powell yesterday, saying “the independence of central banks is a cornerstone of price, financial and economic stability”.
Powell’s term as chair ends in May, although he could remain on the Fed’s Board of Governors until 2028.
“Gold prices have pressed higher, now rallying c. 3% since Powell announced Federal prosecutors had begun investigating him,” wrote SP Angel analysts. Gold has often been used as a hedge against threats to the Fed’s independence.
“We suspect the recent acceleration in the gold rally may be a combination of sustained concerns over Trump’s attitude towards U.S. institutions and heightened geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China.”
Trump today cited potential Chinese influence among the reasons for the U.S. attempts to seize Greenland, a territory of Denmark.
“The United States needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security,” wrote Trump on Truth Social. “NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) should be leading the way for us to get it. IF WE DON’T, RUSSIA OR CHINA WILL, AND THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!”
“We didn’t manage to change the American position” on acquiring Greenland," Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said after talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Vice President JD Vance. Denmark has organised military drills in Greenland, and will be joined by NATO allies like France and Germany.
