By Kean TanKevin Warsh Photo: REUTERSThe nomination of Kevin Warsh as the new chairman of the US Federal Reserve turned into a nightmare for the precious metals complex on Jan 30. In our view, it is clear that neither the nomination of Mr Warsh nor the related rebound of the US dollar was in any way sufficient to explain the sell-off. Global gold demand reached a record in the fourth quarter of last year, driven by strength in investment demand and central bank buying. In our opinion, Mr Warsh has a good chance of defending the Fed's image as an independent institution. At the same time, Mr Warsh argues that the prospect of AI-driven productivity increases justifies lower policy rates by allowing higher growth with lower inflation.

Source: Bangkok Post February 16, 2026 18:47 UTC