Gold breaks $4,600 for first time as Powell probe, Iran unrest fuel rush to safety

Gold surged through $4,600 an ounce for the first time on Monday as investors snapped up safe-haven assets amid heightened geopolitical tensions and a criminal investigation involving US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, Reuters reported. 

Spot gold rose 1.4% to $4,572.36 by 06:19 GMT after touching a record $4,600.33 earlier in the session, while US gold futures climbed 1.8% to $4,583.20. 

Other precious metals also jumped, with spot silver up 5.4% to $83.26 after hitting an all-time high of $84.58, spot platinum up 3.5% to $2,351.25, and palladium up 2.8% to $1,865.50. 

Analysts pointed to escalating risks in Iran, where a rights group said unrest has killed more than 500 people, alongside rising tensions between the Trump administration and the Fed after Powell said he had been threatened with a criminal indictment over congressional testimony—news that pushed the dollar and US equity futures lower.