With an eye for detail and over a decade of experience covering the mining and metals sector, Charlotte is passionate about bringing investors accurate and insightful information that can help them make informed decisions.
She leads the Investing News Network's video and event coverage, and guides a team of writers reporting on niche investment markets.
"I encourage people to not get overwhelmed ... but realize that this is your chance to make a historic amount of money — really life-changing returns," said Brien Lundin of Gold Newsletter.
Brien Lundin, editor of Gold Newsletter, shares his latest thoughts on gold, saying that for the last couple of months the price has largely been rising alongside real yields in the bond market.
In his view, that's a potentially concerning sign for what's ahead.
Click here to sign up for the New Orleans Investment Conference.
Don't forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Affiliate Disclosure: The Investing News Network may earn commission from qualifying purchases or actions made through the links or advertisements on this page.
With an eye for detail and over a decade of experience covering the mining and metals sector, Charlotte is passionate about bringing investors accurate and insightful information that can help them make informed decisions.
She leads the Investing News Network's video and event coverage, and guides a team of writers reporting on niche investment markets.
The gold price started strong this week, rising as high as US$4,685 per ounce early in the period before taking a tumble to the US$4,540 level.
Silver was a similar story, although its high point of nearly US$71 per ounce came later in the week; the white metal then fell to around US$68.50.
The price declines for both precious metals came after US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh spoke on Friday (August 28) at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium.
Fed leaders typically use the event to share broad thoughts on the direction of policy and interest rates, and this year's iteration has been strongly anticipated — since taking the helm at the central bank earlier this year, Warsh has been fairly tight-lipped about plans.
While his comments in Jackson Hole were in line with his previous statements, they drove home that rate hikes remain possible — Warsh reiterated the Fed's 2 percent inflation target, saying that it's based on the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index.
July PCE data came out this week, showing a seasonally adjusted rise of 0.2 percent for the month and 3.7 percent on an annual basis. Core PCE, which removes the volatile food and energy categories, was up 0.2 percent from June and 3.3 percent from a year ago.
Those numbers were largely in line with expectations, but Warsh cautioned that they don't necessarily mean that "underlying trends have meaningfully improved."
Gold and silver fare better in lower-rate environments, and with hikes firmly on the table, investors are now closely watching the Fed's next meeting, scheduled for September 15 to 16.
Gold and silver have definitely been receiving renewed attention as the summer draws to a close, but they're not the only commodities worth looking at right now.
I heard this week from Steve Barton of In It To Win It, who spoke about a seasonal pattern in uranium that in his view presents a strong opportunity. Here's how he explained it:
"We can see that there's a definite seasonality here in the summertime. You've interviewed Justin Huhn, just like I do every couple of months or so, and he was basically forecasting this right here — that during the summer we're probably going to get a pullback in uranium, and that's exactly what happened ... So we've got — we're kind of in late August here, and then we've got a pretty good price spike coming, I think, in uranium. I really like getting some uranium equities right now."
Barton suggested using the Sprott Uranium Miners ETF (ARCA:URNM) to get exposure to the sector, adding that uranium is "probably one of the best deals today."
He also sees platinum and palladium as speculative bets — however, it's worth noting that Barton is an active trader, so his ideas may require quick reaction times.
While Barton expects a compelling short-term move in uranium, it's no secret that the long-term outlook is also growing ever stronger as global energy demand increases.
This week the case for uranium was bolstered even further as the US Army announced plans to add microreactors at five military bases in the country.
Antares Nuclear, BWXT Advanced Technologies (NYSE:BWXT), General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems, Radiant Industries and Westinghouse Government Services will receive a combined US$2.2 billion over a five year period to own, construct and operate the microreactors.
The idea is to provide the bases with power that is independent of the commercial electric grid, a move that the army says will offer protection against grid failure.
The funds will be delivered under the Janus Program, which the army launched last year after being tasked under an executive order with setting up an advanced reactor at a domestic military installation by September 30, 2028.
We covered copper's positive setup last week, and this week the red metal continued to ramp up, setting another new price record on the London Metal Exchange.
Although it pulled back after reaching that high, investor and author Gianni Kovacevic believes these levels aren't unrealistic for copper:
"Yes, these prices are sustainable. Like everything else that's priced in the US dollar — the loss of spending power. So we're looking now at copper at all-time highs. How much spending power has been lost in the US dollar? Inflation, we've seen it everywhere, from Big Macs to copper to everything you buy. It's not really all-time highs. If we look at an inflation-adjusted all-time high in copper, when you factor in the loss of spending power in the US dollar, there's room to grow still, in my opinion."
Kovacevic is a longtime copper bull, and he said he's currently getting exposure to the sector via Lumina Metals (TSX:LMCU,OTCPL:LMCUF), a Ross Beaty-backed company that recently began trading.
Want more YouTube content? Check out our expert market commentary playlist, which features interviews with key figures in the resource space. If there's someone you'd like to see us interview, please send an email to cmcleod@investingnews.com.
And don't forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.
With an eye for detail and over a decade of experience covering the mining and metals sector, Charlotte is passionate about bringing investors accurate and insightful information that can help them make informed decisions.
She leads the Investing News Network's video and event coverage, and guides a team of writers reporting on niche investment markets.
Investor and author Gianni Kovacevic shares his top conviction right now, saying the most mispriced opportunity he sees for speculators is direct lithium extraction.
He also weighs in on gold and silver, noting that all roads lead to gold — and silver will follow.
Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
With an eye for detail and over a decade of experience covering the mining and metals sector, Charlotte is passionate about bringing investors accurate and insightful information that can help them make informed decisions.
She leads the Investing News Network's video and event coverage, and guides a team of writers reporting on niche investment markets.
Steve Barton, host of In It To Win It, shares his take on gold and silver's recent price moves, encouraging investors not to get too caught up in their rise.
Instead, he sees uranium as a strong opportunity at this point in time, and suggested platinum and palladium as potential speculative opportunities.
Don't forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
With an eye for detail and over a decade of experience covering the mining and metals sector, Charlotte is passionate about bringing investors accurate and insightful information that can help them make informed decisions.
She leads the Investing News Network's video and event coverage, and guides a team of writers reporting on niche investment markets.
The gold price kept rising this week, breaking through the US$4,600 per ounce level. Silver was on the move as well, pushing past US$69 per ounce.
A slew of drivers for both precious metals emerged during the period, but what's attracting the most attention is an announcement from the US Department of the Treasury.
The department, which is led by Secretary Scott Bessent, said on Wednesday (August 19) that it will “at least double” purchases of long-term government debt. The change will go into effect on September 9, and will remain until November 4 of this year.
The Treasury said the unexpected intervention is designed to "provide greater liquidity support" to long-dated US debt; however, market watchers are interpreting it as concern about long-term yields, which have largely been trending higher since last year.
The move did initially push bond yields down, while prices, which move inversely to yields, increased. But the impact didn't last — by the next day, those changes had reversed, suggesting investors aren't convinced that long-term borrowing costs can be tamped down.
Adding fuel to the fire is the news that US debt now stands at over US$40 trillion, double where it was when US President Donald Trump first took office in 2017. Interest payments on the debt are now reportedly on track to become the government's biggest expense.
This week also brought increased tensions between the US and Iran, with Trump posting on Truth Social that America plans to launch the "most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country." Few details have been shared at this point.
Taken together, these circumstances have boosted enthusiasm for safe havens like gold and silver and weighed on the broader stock market. They've also created questions about the US Federal Reserve's path forward — experts have drawn parallels between the Treasury's buyback plan and "Operation Twist," a similar strategy that was employed by the Fed back in 2011.
The goal of Operation Twist was to reduce long-term interest rates while stabilizing short-term rates. Part of its appeal was that it wasn't seen as inflationary. This time around it's a different story, and there are concerns that the Treasury's actions will boost inflation.
Chair Kevin Warsh has emphasized the Fed's 2 percent inflation target since taking the helm earlier this year, and minutes from the central bank's July meeting, released this week, show that many officials believe higher rates may be necessary in the future.
For now, CME Group's (NASDAQ:CME) FedWatch tool shows rates are expected to stay steady when the Fed meets in September, but more clues are seen coming out of next week's Jackson Hole event.
Gold and silver prices may be up, but it's copper that's currently setting new records.
I've heard for some time that the red metal's long-term outlook is strong, but recently the near-term story has been heating up too. Tariff concerns have led to a jump in copper shipments from London to the US, squeezing the market and boosting prices.
I spoke with Substack newsletter writer John Rubino, who said that beyond that copper demand is being driven by a variety of factors, from electrification to artificial intelligence data centers. Meanwhile, supply is well below where it needs to be to feed those industries.
Here's how he explained it:
"There's a stat going around in the industry that in effect says we will need more copper in the next 30 years than we've mined in the first 10,000 years of human civilization. And there's nowhere near that much copper coming out of today's copper mines, so the price has to go up in order to incent more miners to go out there and find more copper. And you know, we're well into that process with copper having doubled in the last couple of years, but we're nowhere near the end of it.
"I think copper has to go up a lot from here before we generate anything like the new mining output that we're going to need, if it's even possible to do it — it's completely possible that we've picked all the low-hanging fruit in the copper market, and there just isn't that much copper available at any price, no matter what we pay the miners. And that just makes the price of copper go up even more."
Clem Chambers of aNewFN.com is also bullish, and believes copper's run is far from over:
"I am in copper and I am long, and it's done really well. But you ain't seen nothing yet. It's going to double from here. To me that's clear. Some people who are more qualified than me say it's going to go even further than I think it's going to go. I think US$30,000 per tonne is a thing, and they say — and they should know, because they actually used to stand in a square and shout at people about these things, you know, in the rings — they say US$40,000."
For now, the immediate pressure has eased on the back of an influx of copper to London, but the consensus is that the tightness in the market isn't finished yet.
Want more YouTube content? Check out our expert market commentary playlist, which features interviews with key figures in the resource space. If there's someone you'd like to see us interview, please send an email to cmcleod@investingnews.com.
And don't forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.
With an eye for detail and over a decade of experience covering the mining and metals sector, Charlotte is passionate about bringing investors accurate and insightful information that can help them make informed decisions.
She leads the Investing News Network's video and event coverage, and guides a team of writers reporting on niche investment markets.
Clem Chambers, CEO of aNewFN.com, shares his latest thoughts on gold and silver, including the price levels where he would be a buyer again.
For now, he's more interested in platinum, where he's identified a stock he likes, and copper.
"I am in copper and I am long, and it's done really well. But you ain't seen nothing yet," he said.
Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
