Gold Prices Maintain Gains Amid Concerns Over Federal Reserve Independence

SadaNews - Gold prices have maintained their gains after President Donald Trump’s call for the resignation of a Federal Reserve board member raised new concerns about the central bank's independence, boosting demand for safe havens.

The yellow metal was trading above $3,342 per ounce, after rising nearly 1% following Trump’s demand for conservative Lisa Cook to resign over allegations related to a real estate fraud.

If this happens, it would give the president a chance to appoint a member more inclined toward accommodative policies. However, Cook indicated her intention to remain in her position within the Federal Reserve.

Awaiting Powell’s Speech in Jackson Hole

Traders are looking forward to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech on Friday at the annual Jackson Hole gathering for signals regarding upcoming decisions.

Traders expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by at least 25 basis points next month, which would be positive for gold as it does not yield interest.

Minutes from last month's policy-making meeting showed that officials see inflation risks as outweighing concerns about the labor market.

Strong Performance Since the Beginning of the Year

The precious metal has risen by more than a quarter this year, although most of the gains were achieved during the first four months when prices hit a record level.

Gold has received support from central bank purchases and inflows into exchange-traded funds, while many analysts, including the wealth management unit at "UBS," expect further gains are possible.

The "BMI" unit of "Fitch Solutions" stated in a note: "Prices will remain high in the coming weeks as the market prepares for a U.S. interest rate cut in September." It added: "We expect gold to range between $3,200 and $3,600 per ounce for the remainder of 2025."

Gold settled at $3,342.40 per ounce by 9:00 AM in Singapore. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index also remained stable. There was little change in the prices of silver, palladium, and platinum.