The world’s largest gold producer continues to ride the wave of higher precious metals prices after reporting record earnings and free cash flow for the first quarter of 2026.
Gold futures staged a measured recovery on Wednesday, settling at $4,758 per ounce on the COMEX — a gain of $19 on the session — as markets digested a complex cocktail of geopolitical relief and monetary policy anxiety. The advance, took place despite a stronger dollar following President Donald Trump's decision to extend the U.S.-Iran ceasefire indefinitely, allowing gold to scrape back a portion of Tuesday's steep sell-off that pushed prices to their lowest level since April 13.
Although the gold market looks a little directionless as prices test near-term support near $4,700, it still remains an important diversification tool, and investors should see these lower prices as a buying opportunity, according to one fund manager.
The recent decline in long positions for gold and silver means both metals have some potential upside, but the ongoing Iran conflict and tensions surrounding the succession at the head of the Fed will keep the big money out of precious metals over the coming weeks, according to Rhona O'Connell, Head of Market Analysis at StoneX.
Gold prices are near steady but near session highs near midday Thursday. Trading has been choppy the past couple weeks as traders assess the ramifications of the war on the metals markets in the near to intermediate term. Sliver prices are lower but up from their daily lows. Metals traders are awaiting the next shoe to drop regarding major U.S.-Iran war developments. June gold was last down $3.30 at $4,749.90. May silver prices were down $1.74 at $76.15.
For many investors, gold remains an anomaly because it produces no cash flow, pays no dividend, and resists conventional valuation models. However, for Jeff Sarti, CEO of Morton Wealth, that’s precisely the point.
Gold prices were continuing to close in on their overnight highs on Thursday morning following the release of worse-than-expected labor market data after the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits were above economists’ forecasts.
The Bank of Russia has sold 21.8 tonnes of gold since the start of 2026 to help finance the country’s budget deficit, which had grown to $61.2 billion by the end of March, according to Russian and Ukrainian reports.
Gold shed more than $100 in intraday trading Tuesday, sliding from an opening of $4,842 per troy ounce to a session low near $4,700, as a surging U.S. dollar and mounting inflation anxieties tied to the ongoing Iran conflict weighed heavily on the precious metal. The selloff underscored a growing tension at the heart of the gold trade: the same geopolitical crisis that initially drove investors into bullion is now threatening to trigger the very monetary tightening that makes gold less attractive.
British silver and gold miner Hochschild Mining has made a solid start to its financial year, with a strong operational performance recorded by its flagship Inmaculada mine, in Peru.
