Friday Recap (8/7/2026)

Current (Last Week) -- (% from ATH | ATH)

AU: $4,341 ($4,042) -- 22% from ATH ($5,608)

AG: $63 ($57) -- 48% from ATH ($121)

HUI: 753 (617) -- 23% from ATH (986)

DXY: 99 (99)

S&P 500: 7,757 (7,489) -- near ATH (7763)

10-Year: 4.6% (4.7%)

An eventful week. Earnings remained strong on Wall Street, pushing the S&P 500 to ATH at 7763. The war in Iran was subdued, with WTI oil dropping to $77, and Iran/Oman announcing a deal to share control of the Strait. Ironically, the US did not immediately say that the deal was dead without its approval.

Plus, the Fed (at Treasury Secretary Bessent’s request) decided to open the FIMO repo facility to Japan to support the Yen. Instead of selling US Treasuries, Japan can instead put them up as collateral to borrow (printed) dollars to buy Yen. In theory, Japan is supposed to buy back the Treasuries and pay interest. But they don’t have to. They can just say thank you very much for the dollars, you can keep the collateral.

These two events both boosted gold: with the war in Iran potentially ending; and the US showing a willingness to print more dollars. The HUI was up 22% this week, and closed at 753. It’s now down only 23% from its ATH. Gold is down 22%. The miners are acting bullish. At this rate, they will make a complete retrace well before gold reaches an ATH at $5,600.

The NFP (non-farm payroll) number was negative for July, with minus 23,000 net new jobs. Normally, in a healthy economy, we see at least 100,000 net new jobs each month. The average for the last 12 months is 34,000 new jobs. Unemployment dropped from 4.2% to 4.1% because many boomers retired and were not replaced. The workforce shrank by 264,000 jobs.

CNBC and its business channels want you to believe the economy is strong and the stock market is the only indicator to use. Employment shows another picture. So does consumer confidence, which matches the employment numbers. Wage growth was once again below the inflation rate, as consumers continue to fall behind. Interest rates remain high, creating headwinds for consumers and small businesses.

I still expect a correction for the S&P 500 before November. Gold and silver look great this week, but don’t get too excited until we get to November. I still think gold and silver will get pulled down with my expected coming correction on Wall Street. Today, Wall Street is bullish, but that might not last much longer.