{"text":[[{"start":9.98,"text":"Gold, silver, copper and tin all punched through record highs on Wednesday, as concerns about US military intervention in Iran and the independence of the Federal Reserve helped them extend their recent, dramatic rallies."}],[{"start":25.630000000000003,"text":"Gold, which has doubled in price in less than two years and already surged 8 per cent since the beginning of this year, rose as much as 1.1 per cent to a fresh high of $4,641 per troy ounce, as investors hunted for haven assets. Silver broke through the $90 mark for the first time, rising as much as 6 per cent to $92.24."}],[{"start":54.13,"text":"Copper and tin, which have been rallying strongly in recent months, hit fresh highs of $13,407 and $54,760 per tonne respectively."}],[{"start":67.32000000000001,"text":"“Things are moving so fast, prices are smashing through everybody’s forecasts,” said Helen Amos, an analyst at BMO. “The speed of the move — particularly in silver, tin and copper — is making institutional investors pretty nervous."}],[{"start":85.61000000000001,"text":"“There is no precedent that I can remember in 20 years” for all four metals to peak at the same time, Amos added."}],[{"start":95.75000000000001,"text":"The rare simultaneous peaks reflect investor worries about rising global tensions, less than a week after the US captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro."}],[{"start":107.64000000000001,"text":"Large-scale protests in Iran, along with comments from US President Donald Trump suggesting America would help demonstrators in the face of a brutal crackdown, have fuelled speculation about US military intervention there."}],[{"start":122.92000000000002,"text":"“This is a global momentum trade now . . . we are in uncharted territory,” said Tom Price, analyst at Panmure Liberum, adding that it was rare for base metals to be driven by geopolitical worries."}],[{"start":136.06,"text":"“For copper and tin, this has nothing to do with their conventional drivers, their supply and demand factors,” he said."}],[{"start":144.76,"text":"Investors’ concerns about the independence of the US Federal Reserve have, meanwhile, intensified after chair Jay Powell said at the weekend that US prosecutors had launched a criminal investigation into him over the renovation of the central bank’s headquarters."}],[{"start":162.44,"text":"Powell said the charges were a “pretext” to curtail the Fed’s independence, amid sustained pressure from the White House to cut interest rates."}],[{"start":173.82999999999998,"text":"The probe into Powell was “inflaming uncertainty” and creating a “long-term tailwind” for gold and silver, said Rhona O’Connell, an analyst at StoneX."}],[{"start":185.26999999999998,"text":"Concerns over US tariffs on copper and silver have also created an unusual build-up of physical metal inside the country, with stockpiles much higher than historic averages. More clarity on potential commodity tariffs is expected in the coming days, when the US publishes its findings on the Section 232 investigation into critical minerals."}],[{"start":208.95999999999998,"text":"Tin has rallied sharply in recent months, as a years-long closure of a major mine in Myanmar has reduced global production."}],[{"start":219.40999999999997,"text":"Platinum has also been buoyed by the broad-based rally in metals, reaching a fresh high of $2,478 per tonne on December 29."}],[{"start":239.14,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1768443555_1484.mp3"}