Gold Price Record Drives Metals Rally

Gold price record on Jan. 12, 2026 pushed gold and silver to fresh highs as investors sought safe havens following Department of Justice grand-jury subpoenas related to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell’s June 2025 testimony and escalating unrest in Iran.

Metals Reach Record Highs Amid Dollar Weakness

Spot gold reached an intraday high of $4,601 per troy ounce, while silver hit a record $84.59 per troy ounce as the U.S. dollar weakened. The U.S. Dollar Index fell 0.3% to 98.899. Central-bank demand supported bullion prices, with central banks purchasing 297 tonnes of gold year-to-date through November 2025. Technical indicators showed gold’s relative-strength index (RSI), a momentum measure, near 70 and silver’s above 76, levels that suggest extended momentum and raise the risk of a technical pullback.

Fed Probe and Geopolitical Tensions Drive Safe-Haven Demand

The Department of Justice served grand-jury subpoenas on Jan. 9, 2026 seeking materials tied to Powell’s June 2025 testimony before the Senate Banking Committee about a $2.5 billion renovation of Federal Reserve headquarters. The probe is led by Attorney General Pam Bondi and the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro. Powell confirmed the subpoenas in a video statement released Jan. 11, describing the investigation as political pressure on monetary policy. He said, "The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment."

The inquiry traces back to July 2025, when President Donald Trump and Powell toured the renovation project and Trump criticized its costs. That month, Representative Anna Paulina Luna submitted a criminal referral to the Justice Department concerning Powell’s Senate testimony.

Separately, unrest in Iran, with rights groups reporting more than 500 deaths, combined with U.S. threats to strike Iranian bases and tariffs on BRICS oil imports, boosted flows into traditional safe havens such as gold and silver. Powell’s term as Fed chair expires in May 2026; his board term runs through 2028.