Gold edges past $3,500 as Trump piles pressure on Fed chairman Powell

Investor concern grows over US President's push for central bank to cut interest rates immediately

Gold went through the $3,500-an-ounce level on Tuesday, as investor concern grew over US President Donald Trump's renewed threats against Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, as well as his calls for immediate interest rate cuts.

The precious metal, widely considered as a hedge against inflation, was 4.64 per cent higher at $3,469.07 an ounce as of 12.19pm UAE time, after surging to a record of $3,500.05 earlier in the day.

Gold has now risen by about 28 per cent since the January inauguration of Mr Trump and by nearly a third year-to-date. It passed the $2,000 and $2,500 levels in May 2023 and August last year, respectively, and the $3,000 barrier last month.

The commodity's rise past $3,500 came much earlier than anticipated, as analysts earlier this month predicted that gold would touch that level in the months ahead amid economic uncertainty.

Mr Trump, who appointed Mr Powell in 2018, has intensified pressure on America's central bank chief, urging him and the Fed to issue “pre-emptive cuts” for the weaker growth and higher inflation being forecast by economists due to the trade war that the President started earlier this year.

Mr Powell, however, has stood his ground, saying that the US central bank is independent and should not cave in to pressure from the White House.

The dispute set off a new market sell-off during trading on Monday, although it later stabilised.

The US dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of foreign currencies, dipped as low as 97.72 on Monday, its lowest in three years. It was slightly higher at 12.28pm UAE time on Tuesday, at 98.32.

Mr Trump's demand to lower interest rates immediately pushed the US dollar down and lifted gold, which is priced against the greenback and “can be seen as anti-US dollars”, Carsten Menke, head of next generation research at Swiss bank Julius Baer, said in a note on Tuesday.

Mr Trump’s dispute with Mr Powell can be seen as a mix between dedollarisation, and the debasement of currencies, “as the independence of the US Federal Reserve and the status of the US dollar as a safe haven are threatened if the President puts too much pressure on the chair”, he added.

Analysts have also revised upwards their forecasts for gold prices in 2025. Goldman Sachs, the fifth largest US bank by assets, raised its projections by the end of the year to $3,700 an ounce, quoting stronger-than-expected demand from central banks and a boost from an increased risk of a recession.

Swiss lender UBS had emphasised its “attractive preference” for the precious metal amid “continuing tariff-related and geopolitical risks, which have negatively impacted US and global economic prospects”.