Gold prices held steady below record highs on Tuesday as markets assessed ongoing geopolitical turmoil in Iran and unprecedented U.S. political pressure on the Federal Reserve, while investors awaited key U.S. inflation data later in the day.
Spot gold settled at $4,588.9 an ounce by 8:08 a.m. Saudi time, after jumping to a record high of $4,629.4 an ounce in the previous session.
U.S. gold futures for March delivery fell 0.4% to $4,596.81 an ounce.
Iran's unrest and the Federal Reserve's independence are key concerns; attention is also focused on the US consumer price index.
The record high came against a backdrop of escalating unrest in Iran, where anti-government protests prompted warnings from the United States about possible intervention, leading to concerns about wider regional instability and supporting safe-haven flows into the precious metal.
Protests in Iran are keeping geopolitical tensions high, while President Trump has repeated his threats to seize Greenland, bringing further upside to precious metals, ING analysts said in a note.
The buying in the previous session was also driven by turmoil in US politics and monetary policy.
The Trump administration issued grand jury subpoenas to the Federal Reserve and opened a criminal investigation against Chairman Jerome Powell, centered on his June testimony before Congress regarding a renovation project at the Fed headquarters, raising concerns about political interference in the central bank's independence.
In a public statement, Powell described the subpoenas—and the threats of criminal charges—as pretexts to pressure the Federal Reserve to change its interest rate policy, and reaffirmed the central bank’s commitment to setting policy based on economic conditions, not political influence.
The U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) data is due later on Tuesday, with markets poised for the inflation report to provide fresh clues as to whether the Federal Reserve is likely to cut interest rates in 2026.
Metal markets remain supported
Silver prices also hit record highs in the previous session. Silver prices remained virtually unchanged at $84.94 an ounce on Tuesday after reaching a record high of $86.22 an ounce on Monday.
Platinum prices fell 1.4% to $2,310.09 an ounce after rising more than 3% in the previous session.
Benchmark copper futures on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.6% to $13,089.20 a tonne, while US copper futures dropped 0.3% to $5.99 a pound.
Both contracts saw sharp gains on Monday and remained near their historic highs touched last week.
