Gold & Gold Stocks

Gold and Gold Equities: Week Ending August 7, 2026

Asset	July 31	August 7	Weekly move	Brief comment
Gold futures	US$4,049/oz	US$4,340.70/oz	+7.2%	Strongest week since January
U.S. Dollar Index	99.91	99.54	−0.4%	Weaker U.S. employment reduced rate-hike expectations
Franco-Nevada	C$298.24	~C$334	~+12%	Royalty exposure benefited from higher gold; earnings approaching
Agnico Eagle	C$203.52	C$249.37	+22.5%	Strongest move among the group
Barrick Mining	C$51.45	C$60.96	+18.5%	Gold leverage plus improving investor sentiment
Wheaton Precious Metals	C$152.48	C$187.32	+22.9%	Strong gold and silver exposure

FNV’s August 7 TSX close is approximate because the available Canadian historical feed had not yet posted the final two sessions. Its U.S.-listed shares closed at US$238.65.

What Drove the Moves

Gold: +7.2%

Gold recorded its strongest weekly gain since January after U.S. payrolls unexpectedly declined by 23,000, versus expectations for an increase of roughly 80,000.

The weak employment report:

• reduced expectations of a September Federal Reserve rate increase;
• lowered U.S. Treasury yields;
• weakened the U.S. dollar; and
• reduced the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold.

Spot gold ended near US$4,336, while the most actively reported Comex contract settled at US$4,340.70.

U.S. Dollar Index: −0.4%

DXY declined from 99.91 to 99.54 and briefly touched approximately 99.40. The weekly percentage decline was modest, but the dollar reached a seven-week low following the employment report.

A weaker dollar supports gold because it makes the metal less expensive for buyers using other currencies.

Company Comparison

Agnico Eagle: +22.5%

AEM delivered the strongest operating-miner performance. The shares rose considerably more than gold, demonstrating the normal earnings leverage of a producer: when gold prices rise, most of the additional selling price can flow through to margins after fixed operating costs.

Wheaton Precious Metals: +22.9%

Wheaton performed similarly to Agnico. Its streaming model provides exposure to gold and silver prices without bearing the full operating costs of mine ownership.

Silver also gained approximately 10% during the week, giving WPM an additional tailwind.

Barrick Mining: +18.5%

Barrick benefited from higher gold and improving margins, but slightly underperformed AEM and WPM. Barrick’s copper exposure, project execution risks and geopolitical operating exposure can cause it to trade differently from gold.

Franco-Nevada: approximately +12%

FNV rose strongly but underperformed the miners and WPM. Its royalty model is lower risk and less directly exposed to mining-cost inflation, but it generally has less short-term operational leverage than producers.

Investors were also positioning ahead of FNV’s Q2 results scheduled for August 11.

Interpretation

The miners rose substantially more than gold: Gold +7.2%versus equities +12% to +23%

This indicates strong bullish operating leverage, but also increases reversal risk. If gold gives back part of its gain, producer shares could decline by a larger percentage than the metal.

The rally would weaken if DXY recovers above 100.5, Treasury yields rise again, or gold falls below approximately US$4,200.