Gold and silver prices fall as Trump names Kevin Warsh as his Fed Chair pick. Why are precious metals down?
Gold and silver have had an exceptional year, breaking record high prices on what’s felt like a daily basis. But, as the saying goes, what comes up must come down. On Friday, January 30, gold fell over 6.4%, to $4,962 per ounce in the lead-up to President Trump’s announcement that Kevin Warsh is his pick to be the new Federal Reserve chair. Even a week ago, gold reaching over $4,900 would have been a record-breaking feat. The precious metal only topped $5,000 per ounce for the first time this past Monday. But, by Thursday, gold hit more than $5,580 per ounce, meaning it was up 23% for 2026 and more than 80% over the last 12 months. The idea of celebrating gold being worth below $5,000 was already long gone. As of publication, gold was at about $5,132 an ounce, over a 4% one-day drop. Silver, too, took a tumble on Friday. It fell more than 15% to near $95 per ounce after reaching a record high of over $121 per ounce the day before. The latter had meant that silver was up more than 65% this year and over 252% in the last 12 months. At publication, silver was at about $103 an ounce, just over an 11% one-day drop. Once again, this figure would have been remarkable until very recently, with silver reaching over $100 an ounce for the first time last Friday, January 23. Why are gold and silver dropping? The swift increase in gold and silver’s worth has been primarily attributed to their status as safe-haven assets during a time of increasing geopolitical turbulence. Their fall came as Trump said on Thursday that he would be announcing his proposed replacement for Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends in May. Trump has continually criticized Powell, particularly for not lowering rates as fast as Trump would like. Earlier this week, the Fed voted to maintain interest rates.On Friday morning, Trump announced that he had chosen Warsh as Powell’s replacement. Warsh previously served as a Fed governor and has supported lowering interest rates.A stronger dollar is likely another reason for the falling price of gold and silver, as Barron’s points out. As the Financial Times reported, the U.S. dollar strengthened on Friday after Trump announced Warsh as his nominee.
