CANADA STOCKS-TSX futures gain as gold rallies on Fed independence concerns

Jan 12 (Reuters) - Futures tracking Canada's resources-heavy stock index inched up on Monday, as gold prices rose after a Trump administration probe into U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell sparked concerns over central bank independence and boosted safe-haven demand.

March futures ?on Toronto's S&P/TSX Composite index were up 0.2% as of 6:11 a.m. ET. The index ?touched a record high on Friday, posting its biggest weekly gain ?since November, as commodity prices climbed and domestic employment ?data reassured investors ?that the economy was holding up.

U.S. jobs data on Friday also reinforced expectations that the ?Fed would keep interest rates unchanged ?later this month.

But investor sentiment was tempered on Monday after Powell said that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration ?had threatened to indict him over ?comments made ?to Congress about a building renovation project.

Geopolitical tensions also simmered, with unrest in Iran, developments in Venezuela and Trump's threat to ?acquire Greenland pushing investors to seek shelter in safe-haven assets.

Spot gold jumped 1.8% to $4,591.69 per ounce, having breached the $4,600 mark earlier, while silver gained 5.2% to reach a fresh peak.

Oil prices dipped after a sharp rise on Friday as concerns over supply disruptions in Iran ?eased ?after Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the situation was under control. Brent crude futures fell 0.4%, while U.S. West Texas ?Intermediate crude dropped 0.5%.

Canadian domestic jobs data sent mixed signals on Friday, doing little to alter bets around the Bank of Canada's monetary policy path, with traders expecting interest rates to remain unchanged at 2.25% in 2026.

Investors will look for further cues from domestic housing and manufacturing data later this week, ?alongside developments from Prime Minister Mark Carney's visit to China.

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Canadian ?markets directory (Reporting by Utkarsh Tushar Hathi in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Ananda)