Precious Metals Prices Plummet after Fed Chair Announcement

Gold and silver prices are plunging today, following President Donald Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh for the next chair of the Federal Reserve. Known as a pragmatist, Warsh’s nomination has assuaged many traders’ concerns about the central bank’s independence. According to CNBC, “By 1:10 p.m. ET, spot silver was down 30 percent at $80.55 an ounce, trading at its lows of the day. Meanwhile, spot gold shed around 11 percent to trade at $4,812.71 an ounce. Gold futures dropped 9.1 percent to $4,980, trading below $5,000.” 

Geopolitical tensions have been influencing the gold and silver market this year, along with speculation over who would become the next Federal Reserve chair. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett had been the favorite to replace Jerome Powell for some time, but Warsh recently became the front-runner in prediction markets. Trump’s nomination today ended a streak of record-breaking highs for gold and silver, which surged 65 percent and 150 percent, respectively, over the course of last year, and have continued to climb in 2026.

“Central bank buying has driven the longer-term rally, but this has tailed off in recent months,” says Toni Meadows, head of investment at BRI Wealth Management. “The case for further reserve diversification is still there though as Trump’s trade policies and intervention in foreign affairs will make a lot of countries nervous about holding U.S. assets, especially those countries in the emerging markets or aligned to China or Russia. Silver will mirror the direction of gold, so it is not surprising to see falls there.”

The impact of the metals sell-off is visible across the globe. In Europe, the regional Stoxx 600 Basic Resources index—which includes the continent’s most valuable mining companies—was down 2 percent in afternoon trading, according to CNBC.