US treasury department demands retraction of story on increased oversight of Federal Reserve

US Treasury has formally demanded that the Financial Times retract a March 26 report alleging Scott Bessent had discussed tighter Treasury oversight of the Fed, including a model resembling the Bank of England’s regular communication on inflation targets. Treasury says Bessent never made those statements and has now escalated the dispute to FT owner Nikkei, underscoring how sensitive Washington has become to any suggestion that Fed independence could be altered. For precious metals, the core takeaway is policy-risk premium: investors remain focused on the Fed’s independence because any perception of political interference raises the odds of easier policy and, later, inflationary fallout. The article also ties the dispute to Donald Trump’s repeated attacks on Jerome Powell, which have already unnerved markets. Gold typically benefits when institutional credibility around rates and inflation is questioned, so this keeps the medium-term macro backdrop supportive even without an explicit metals catalyst in the piece.