By Adam Whittaker
Shares in silver and gold miners jumped as doubts over the independence of the Federal Reserve and geopolitical uncertainty triggered a flight to safety among investors, pushing precious metals to record highs.
Both metals have continued last year's rally, with gold rising 2.2% and hitting a record high of $4,600.40 a troy ounce. Silver surged 6.2% to $84.28 an ounce, having hit a record high of $84.69 earlier in the session.
The metals rose after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he is under investigation by U.S. prosecutors. President Trump has long criticized Powell for what he calls an excessively cautious approach to monetary policy.
In morning trade in London, Fresnillo was up 6.7%, while Hochschild Mining rose 5.5%. Endeavour Mining ticked up 2.5%. In Johannesburg, Harmony Gold gained 7.6%, while Sibanye-Stillwater climbed 5.3%.
"This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions, or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation," Powell said in a video published Sunday.
Meanwhile, investors are watching protests in Iran and monitoring for signs the U.S. will launch military strikes against the regime in response to a harsh crackdown by authorities.
Iran is located near vital shipping lanes and military conflict there could squeeze global oil supply. The prosecution of Powell meanwhile raises concerns over the Fed's autonomy in monetary policy, and is putting downward pressure on the dollar. The dollar index--which measures the greenback against a basket of other major currencies--was down 0.4% to 98.75. Longer-dated Treasury yields rose after the news of Powell's prosecution, though short-dated yields fell.
Shares in precious-metal miners have rallied as the metals have become more expensive. Safe-haven demand due to geopolitical instability--which has also led to strong buying from central banks--helped drive the rallies in gold and silver.
Markets are responding to the unprecedented threat by the U.S. Justice Department to pursue a criminal indictment against Powell, MUFG's Soojin Kim wrote in a note.
Write to Adam Whittaker at adam.whittaker@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 12, 2026 06:02 ET (11:02 GMT)
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