Gold and silver prices plunged on Friday as investors drew reassurance from US President Donald Trump’s choice to succeed Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve, easing concerns over the central bank’s independence. European stock markets ended the week higher, while Wall Street edged modestly lower, reports AFP.
The precious metals, typically viewed as safe-haven assets, had already begun retreating on reports, later confirmed, that Trump had nominated former Federal Reserve official Kevin Warsh to lead the US central bank. Trump confirmed the decision on Friday in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“I have known Kevin for a long period of time, and have no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best,” Trump wrote. “On top of everything else, he is ‘central casting,’ and he will never let you down.”
Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB, said the “interesting pick… may give the market some hope that Fed independence will be preserved”.
Trump’s repeated public attacks on outgoing Fed chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends in May, had unsettled markets in recent weeks, fuelling fears that political interference could undermine monetary policy and increase inflation risks.
After surging earlier in the week as investors sought safety amid uncertainty over Trump’s economic and foreign policies, gold prices tumbled sharply on Friday. Gold fell more than eight percent to below $5,000 an ounce after hitting a record high of $5,595.47 on Thursday. Silver suffered an even steeper sell-off, shedding around 20 percent to $90 an ounce after reaching an all-time peak above $120 the previous day.
Financial markets have endured a volatile week, buffeted by a weaker dollar, renewed tariff threats from Trump, rising tensions with Tehran and the looming risk of a US government shutdown.
Asian stock markets closed the week lower following a tech-led retreat on Wall Street, as renewed concerns emerged over the scale of investment required for artificial intelligence. Strong earnings from Meta, Samsung and SK Hynix had lifted sentiment earlier in the week, but Microsoft’s announcement of sharply higher AI infrastructure spending revived worries that returns on those investments could take longer to materialise. Analysts have warned that valuations may be overstretched after years of gains driven by a tech-fuelled rally.
Oil prices stabilised on Friday after an early dip, following a sharp rise the previous day as Trump escalated geopolitical tensions with threats of military action against Iran.
“The building tensions between Iran and the US have driven Brent crude prices to a six-month high,” said Megan Fisher, assistant economist at Capital Economics. “However, the experience of last year’s 12-day conflict and a well-supplied oil market should still weigh on Brent prices by the end of 2026.”
In late New York trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.7 percent at 48,684.32 points, the S&P 500 slipped 0.4 percent to 6,940.69 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.5 percent to 23,561.52. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 closed up 0.5 percent at 10,223.54, Paris’s CAC 40 rose 0.7 percent to 8,126.53 and Frankfurt’s DAX gained 1.0 percent to 24,515.73.
In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 edged down 0.1 percent to 53,322.85, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid 2.1 percent to 27,387.11 and Shanghai’s Composite Index lost 1.0 percent to 4,117.95.
On currency markets, the euro slipped to $1.1875, the pound fell to $1.3716, while the dollar strengthened to 154.33 yen. On commodity markets, Brent North Sea crude edged up 0.2 percent to $70.89 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate rose 0.6 percent to $65.93.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
