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Craig Hemke for Sprott Money is joined by technical analyst Brian Lundin to break down the latest moves in the gold price, silver price, mining stocks, and the broader stock market.
The precious metals sector continues to attract investor attention as gold remains in a long-term bull market supported by economic uncertainty, growing debt burdens, and ongoing central bank demand. During a discussion hosted by Craig Hemke, Brian Lundin shared his views on the current state of the market, the history of Gold Newsletter, and why he believes the opportunity in precious metals remains significant. Lundin explained that Gold Newsletter traces its roots back to August 15, 1971, when President Nixon closed the gold window and severed the final connection between the U.S. dollar and gold. According to Lundin, founder Jim Blanchard recognized the inflationary implications of that decision and launched a campaign advocating for the return of private gold ownership in the United States. As Lundin stated, Gold Newsletter became the primary vehicle used to support that effort. He noted that the publication eventually evolved from a lobbying tool into an investment publication as gold ownership became legal again in 1974. Lundin said, “Gold Newsletter is actually the longest running investment newsletter I believe in the world.” He also discussed the evolution of the New Orleans Investment Conference, which began as an educational event designed to teach Americans how to invest in gold and has grown into one of the most recognized investment conferences in the precious metals industry. Throughout the conversation, Lundin emphasized the importance of education, objective analysis, and understanding long-term monetary trends. He highlighted how both Gold Newsletter and Golden Opportunities focus on helping investors identify opportunities in gold, silver, and mining stocks while providing ongoing market commentary and research. His perspective reflects decades of experience observing precious metals cycles and investor behavior across multiple market environments.
Buy Gold And Buy Silver During Market Pullbacks
A major focus of the discussion was the unique nature of the current precious metals bull market. Lundin argued that this cycle differs significantly from previous gold bull markets because central banks have played a dominant role in driving demand. He explained, “We’ve never seen central banks driving the bus for the first 18 months or so.” According to Lundin, central bank buying created a market environment characterized by limited corrections and steady upward movement in gold prices. At the same time, traditional leverage plays such as silver and mining stocks lagged behind gold because central banks generally do not purchase those assets. Lundin believes this divergence created an opportunity for investors. He argued that silver and mining shares remained undervalued relative to gold, giving investors the chance to accumulate positions before broader participation arrived. As Western investors began entering the market later in the cycle, increased volatility returned. Lundin noted that traders often approach gold as a risk asset and react to Federal Reserve expectations, interest-rate policies, and geopolitical developments. Despite recent weakness in mining stocks, he maintained that the decline was excessive and represented a buying opportunity rather than a sign that the bull market had ended. Referencing a long-standing investment principle, he said, “If you’re in a bull market, buy the dips.” Lundin views the pullback in mining shares and silver as temporary and believes the broader trend remains intact. He suggested that long-term investors should focus on the underlying drivers of the bull market rather than short-term volatility. In his view, lower prices provide opportunities for accumulation rather than reasons for concern, particularly for investors seeking exposure to precious metals and mining companies that could benefit from future advances in gold and silver prices.
Gold Spot Price, Silver Spot Price, And The Debt Crisis
The conversation also explored monetary policy, inflation, and the growing burden of government debt. Lundin expressed skepticism that policymakers can maintain restrictive monetary policies for extended periods because of the financial pressures created by rising debt-service costs. Discussing the economic environment, he argued that the United States ultimately requires lower interest rates to sustain the system. According to Lundin, the mathematics of debt accumulation make prolonged high-rate policies difficult to maintain. He stated, “We have to have lower interest rates. We can’t afford higher interest rates.” He further argued that interest rates may ultimately need to remain below the inflation rate, resulting in negative real rates. Lundin believes this environment is fundamentally supportive of gold and silver because it erodes purchasing power and encourages investors to seek monetary assets that can preserve value. While acknowledging short-term fluctuations driven by geopolitical events and market sentiment, he emphasized that the larger trend remains tied to decades of increasingly accommodative monetary policy. He described the current environment as the culmination of more than four decades of “ever easier money” that encouraged greater debt accumulation throughout the economy. In his assessment, this long-term trend has not ended and will continue influencing investment markets for years to come. As a result, he expects precious metals to remain attractive as stores of value and potential beneficiaries of future monetary adjustments. Lundin repeatedly returned to the idea that investors should maintain a long-term perspective and avoid becoming distracted by temporary corrections or market noise.
Mining Stocks, Monetary Reset, And The Future Of Precious Metals
Looking ahead, Lundin expressed confidence that the precious metals bull market has further room to run. Although he acknowledged uncertainty regarding the exact timing of future advances, he believes the fundamental drivers remain intact. He discussed the possibility that the current monetary system could eventually require some form of reset to restore confidence in fiat currencies. While he does not view official gold revaluation as a complete solution, he suggested that reconnecting currencies to gold in some manner could become necessary if purchasing power continues to deteriorate. Lundin explained, “The only way to reinstate or regain that credibility for fiat currencies would be to establish it to some sort of a or reconnect to gold in some way.” He emphasized that no one can accurately predict whether such an outcome might occur in two years, twenty years, or even later. However, he believes investors should recognize the broader trend toward declining purchasing power and position themselves accordingly. For Lundin, the conclusion is straightforward: “You want to own gold, you want to own silver. And you want to own investments like mining stocks that leverage that trend.” He also noted that seasonal factors may soon become favorable for precious metals, potentially supporting another rally phase. Throughout the discussion, Lundin remained optimistic about the long-term outlook for the sector despite recent volatility. His analysis reflects a belief that debt expansion, monetary easing, and currency debasement will continue driving demand for precious metals. Investors who understand those trends, he argued, should view market pullbacks as opportunities rather than setbacks.
Conclusion
Brian Lundin’s comments highlight a consistent theme: the long-term fundamentals supporting gold, silver, and mining stocks remain firmly in place. While short-term market movements may create uncertainty, he believes central bank demand, rising debt burdens, and the need for accommodative monetary policies continue to support the broader bull market. His outlook suggests that investors who focus on long-term trends rather than temporary volatility may find significant opportunities in precious metals and related mining investments. As concerns about debt, inflation, and currency purchasing power continue to grow, gold and silver remain important assets for diversification and wealth preservation.
Investors interested in protecting purchasing power and gaining exposure to long-term monetary trends should consider researching opportunities to buy gold, buy silver, and evaluate quality mining stocks as part of a diversified investment strategy.
Previous Podcasts You May Have Missed
Readers interested in learning more about the outlook for gold, silver, mining stocks, and the risks facing the global financial system may also enjoy these recent discussions from Sprott Money:
- Silver Explosion Ahead? Gold Pullback & Stock Market Melt-Up
This discussion examines the potential for a major move higher in silver prices, the implications of recent gold market volatility, and whether broader equity markets are approaching a speculative melt-up phase. - Gold & Silver Mispriced? Fiat Currency Risks With Alasdair Macleod
In this interview, Alasdair Macleod explores the disconnect between precious metals valuations and underlying monetary realities, while discussing growing concerns surrounding fiat currencies, debt accumulation, and the long-term outlook for gold and silver investors.
Craig (00:01.377)
Hello again from SprottMoney and SprottMoney.com. We're now into the middle part of June 2026, and that means it's time for your monthly Ask the Expert segment. I'm your host, Craig Hemke, and joining me this month is Brian London. Many of you will recognize Brian from his great work with his newsletters and, of course, the famous, always must attend New Orleans Investment Conference.
I'm gonna pick Brian's brain about what's going on in the metals as well over the course of the next twenty minutes or so. Brian, thank you so much for joining me.
Brien Lundin (00:40.438)
Great to be with you, Craig. I have always been such a huge fan of what you do and your contributions to metals investors all over the place. So I hope you don't mind. I may ask you more questions than you ask me. So fair warning.
Craig (00:53.582)
Well well, you're very kind and generous with your words. I appreciate that. It is we've certainly been at it for a long time, Brian, and hopefully we can keep at it for a while longer, but the current times notwithstanding it it's been mostly mostly fun to be following these things. You have just so people know, you run and produce a couple of great newsletters.
Brien Lundin (01:14.186)
Mm-hmm.
Craig (01:21.848)
the gold newsletter and the golden opportunities newsletter. Let let's start there. Tell everybody a little bit about that.
Brien Lundin (01:27.572)
Yeah, gold newsletter is actually the longest running investment newsletter I believe in the world. I'm gonna claim that until somebody proves me wrong, but it was started essentially on August fifteenth, nineteen seventy-one. You know that date well when Nixon closed the gold window, severed the the dollar's last connection with with gold. a guy named Jim Blanchard, who was a school teacher at the time, heard Nixon's
Craig (01:44.118)
Yeah.
Brien Lundin (01:55.923)
address on the radio and decided to do something about it. At the time it was illegal to own gold, which is just seems so ridiculous now today, but it was. And he thought it was ridiculous obviously and he saw the inflationary implications
in the coming dollar devaluation, that would come. And so he decided to lobby for the right return of the right of gold ownership to American citizens so they could protect themselves. And his main tool in doing that was a newsletter called Gold Newsletter, which he sent out from his kitchen table to try and raise funds for the lobbying effort. Did a lot of crazy things to
to advance that effort and gold newsletter over the years evolved from a kind of a lobbying publication to an investment publication as it actually became legal to do that in the US along the way when in 1974 when we knew that it was that we were going to be successful he was gonna be successful in getting gold legalized he decided to have an investment conference
To teach Americans how to invest in gold. That has evolved over the years into the New Orleans Investment Conference. And that in turn is the longest-running investment event in the world today. So I was hired as a junior copywriter for Jim in the in the nineteen eighties and kind of survived all of the iterations of of that and the events and world events and Jim
And I was running the organization for Jim and his business partner when he passed away in 1999. And I've been kind of solely running it and trying to burnish its legacy of all those of those organizations and the like since then. Golden Opportunities is a free letter that we put out there. gold newsletter is subscription based, and I focus on a lot of junior mining opportunities, a lot of stock picks and coverage in there.
Brien Lundin (04:02.376)
golden opportunities. We don't have stock picks, but I do have market commentary twice a week. And one or two times a week we focus on an advertising issue where we focus on one junior mining company story. So a lot of great opportunities are presented in that through its ads, but you also get my ongoing market commentary commentaries. So so there you go. That's what I do.
Craig (04:26.039)
So to register for either, like that just even that free email, you got a website you can lay on people?
Brien Lundin (04:33.726)
Yeah, you can go to goldnewsletter.com to learn more about gold newsletter and to register for golden opportunities. You also get our forty some odd page investor's guide to gold and silver, which is very valuable and completely objective, kind of a starter on investing in the sector. And you can go to new orleansconference.com to see our great lineup of speakers, you among them, I might add this year.
but it's coming up this fall, October twenty eighth to thirty-first. and the the speakers we have are the best in the industry. I think everybody agrees on that. you'll see maybe two or three of our speakers at other conferences, but you won't see thirty, and that's what we bring to the table.
Craig (05:25.997)
But you definitely has a reputation as the best, especially when it comes to precious metals conference. and again, you've been doing that for a long time. Have you noticed? I mean, compared to where we were ten years ago, five years ago, is interest pretty regular? Has it picked up as of late? how's attendance been?
Brien Lundin (05:30.432)
Okay.
Brien Lundin (05:46.369)
Well the prices have picked up. You know, this is you know, every history rhymes and every bull market in the metals, I've seen a few now. I've I'd I've lived through every bull market in gold in human history because before nineteen the nineteen seventies it was money. It wasn't an investor asset. Some would argue and I would that it's still money, but you know, if you look at every
Craig (05:49.708)
Yeah.
Craig (06:06.188)
That's right.
Craig (06:11.351)
Right.
Brien Lundin (06:15.594)
bull market cycle, they all have certain common characteristics, but they're also different to some extent. And this one is absolutely unique. It has a lot of characteristics that we've never seen before. We've never seen central banks driving the bus for the first 18 months or so, you know, where you really never had a correction. You just had a pause, you know, in sideways action, worked off in time, and then off you go again.
And because of that, and because central banks don't buy silver, they don't buy mining stocks, those typical levers to gold were lagging instead of leading the move. And and that's been interesting. But it's also created a tremendous opportunity in that investors have had the luxury of an in-place bull market and pricing as if there wasn't in the typical levers. So they were able to pick up silver cheaply and mining stocks cheaply.
relative to the gold price. That's been the the big characteristic, I think, and the defining characteristic of this bull market. I think it partly because of that, I think it's the biggest and the most potentially rewarding one that we'll ever we've ever had and perhaps we'll ever see because at the end of this one there may be a big reset for all we know.
Craig (07:38.22)
That's a yeah, that's what lies at the end of this. and cer I certainly don't think it's over because the math of the debt and the deficit and the cash it takes they have to create to feed that beast certainly is slowing. However, you know, we have had a heck of a pullback since this war began back on March the first. it's a GDX has gone from 117 to a low of seventy-three. that seems to be a little overdone.
Brien Lundin (07:41.354)
Yeah.
Brien Lundin (07:51.508)
Mm-hmm.
Craig (08:08.056)
or is it not overdone? Maybe it's telling us where the medals are headed. What do you make of the last hundred days or so that we've had in the shares?
Brien Lundin (08:15.04)
You know, it it's absolutely overdone. You know, the old adage is if you're in a bull market by the dips, that's this I think for the mining stocks and and for silver is one of those opportunities that the market is providing us. That you know, I I started off by saying how different it was with the by being driven by central banks and that steady level of buying. But sometime around the late summer of of last year, we started to see Western investors.
really get involved. If you look at at the GDX divided by gold, you see on August first year, all of a sudden it started massively outperforming gold. Then you had Powell's Jackson Hole speech where he said, Well, we've got rate cuts coming, conceded rate cuts, and you can see gold took off from there. That kind of marked the starting gun of of the rush
or semi-rush as it turned out to be of Western investors, of traders, Western traders into the market. And they entered primarily through through mining stocks, through silver, you know, the typical levers. So we started to see those outperform. And in gold, they they they kind of got involved with the, you know, the area that you're familiar with, the futures and options markets, and trying to gain leverage on that move. But they got involved and because of that,
We got out of that mode of steady, almost relentless rise in the price to massive rallies and, you know, you know, stomach turning corrections, the kind of volatility that you typically get in a market that's driven by Western traders and the like. So right now gold is a risk asset. You know, it's it's trading according to the market's sentiment, trader sentiment, is toward Fed and central bank policy.
So, you know, the war came along and well, oil prices are going up, inflationary pressures, more hawkish Fed. we sell everything. We sold stocks, didn't sell AI, interestingly, but you know, you sell the risk assets and gold was lumped into that as far as the traders go. And and I think that the the central banks and Asian investors as well are are instead of making the price as they started to do, they're taking the price and saying,
Craig (10:22.315)
Yeah.
Brien Lundin (10:39.754)
You know, if it's on sale, we'll take it. Give us more of it. And taking advantage of that. So that that buying has been evolved into more of a support for the market than a driver. And the next driver is going to be when everyone realizes that you know we're we're going to have an easier money environment no matter what Walsh says, no matter what the Fed says, no what no matter what the macro picture may say because of that debt situation.
Craig (10:49.666)
Mm-hmm.
Craig (11:09.921)
So and to that end, what do you make of this from Warsh? We recorded this on Thursday the eighteenth, so it was just yesterday. we got our first good look at him. I've I've already taken to calling him Mr. Task Force because it seems like he's got a task force for everything, right? It's like anyway, I won't get into that. I'm just like, what kind of anyway, that's a whole other story. Yeah, exactly. That's what politicians always do.
Brien Lundin (11:29.15)
We're gonna ch We're gonna take the whole lead here, we're gonna form committees and I I think Yeah.
Craig (11:37.964)
Right? They're we're gonna have a blue ribbon panel for this and a task force for that. And I'm like, are you leading this thing or are you just looking for cover? But I digress, Brian. I you know, when he was announced as the likely pick back at the end of January, that was one of the reasons used for rallying the dollar and and the medals getting pounded back from their all-time highs because he was going to be this big hawk. And I sat there and thought, There's no way this guy's gonna be a hawk. But then
Brien Lundin (11:45.386)
Yes, yep.
Craig (12:06.133)
He comes out yesterday and I mean I could not have been more wrong. He he can't mention inflation and two percent target and we're gonna that's gonna be the thing we gotta get under control. Was it just job owning? or do you think this is really who he is? He really does think he can draw down the balance sheet and raise rates and everything else.
Brien Lundin (12:22.974)
I I think it's to some extent who he is. He was a critic of QE and the like, and you know, was relatively as hawkish as you could be among that ilk. but it is to some degree drawboning, as you say, because of the debt, the structure of the debt. There's only so much he can do. These task force, one of their goals is going to be to rewrite the definition of inflation, which you know, the
They've been doing for decades anyway. And so rewrite that. So we we we change the measuring stick a bit to get a bit of cover. and and that's what he he's going to do. That's what he has to do to get some cover. The the issue is going to be that debt and the structural
Craig (12:55.511)
Mm-hmm.
Brien Lundin (13:19.594)
you know, requirements to pay off that debt and deficits. So we have to have lower interest rates. We can't afford higher interest rates. And no matter what Warsh says, you know, you have to dance with the one that brung you. And and Trump is not gone going to allow him to start raising rates in any
meaningful or long-lasting way. he might get away from one rate cut, but he's not going to keep raising rates. And now he has the excuse of, you know, peace in the Middle East and lowering oil prices. That and the the emphasis on productivity gains, which I totally agree with in general, but it it
forms more cover for him and that productivity is going to make a lot of things cheaper. I think he's going to have to have an easier money policy or stance going forward. And that that debt, the debt situation and the cost of servicing that debt means that the the interest rates actually have to be below the rate of inflation.
Going forward, we have to have negative real rates, or the whole house of cards falls apart. And it that's just simple math at this point.
Craig (14:38.775)
So it sounds to me like in your next edition of the gold newsletter, you're probably gonna you're probably thinking, yeah, this is just weakness. This is a pullback. I don't like the word correction because it makes it correction means that, you know, you did something wrong. And so therefore we have to correct it. I like the I prefer the word pullback, but you just kind of look at this as an extended pullback. Do you and and as you mentioned, that central bank demand underpinning this certainly seems to be
Brien Lundin (14:54.979)
Right. Yeah.
Craig (15:08.877)
even growing now as we enter the back half of the year. Does that leave you at least optimistic that the perhaps the worst is behind us?
Brien Lundin (15:16.498)
Yeah, yeah. I think in my next edition I'm gonna reuse the headline that I used earlier a few months back of of a washout in the metals. And and we're gonna get beyond that. I had expected that the end of a resolution in the Middle East would be the starting gun for the next rally. kind of revised that because this resolution really wasn't much of one. That MOU you know,
Craig (15:25.12)
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Craig (15:43.575)
Yeah.
Brien Lundin (15:46.727)
it it really there's not much meat on the bone there. I think that Trump is trying to get past the midterms and he's losing the leverage and it's we're we're going to be back to dropping bombs or we're going to back be back to the status quo minus the Iranian army and in nuclear facilities.
that we were had for years. So that I think may come back to haunt us as it were. We have seasonality coming into play right now, but that seasonality is about to turn in our in our favor. You know, gold typically when when there is a seasonal effect, gold typically bottoms between the middle of July and the middle of August. So we're we're not that far away. So
I I just think people need to focus on the longer term picture and look at lower prices as an opportunity.
Craig (16:44.663)
Certainly a lot of folks listening are I'm sure nodding their head in agreement. in the end, Brian, how do you see this playing out? Are you are you we're just g we're in the first inning in this game, we've got a little ways to go. D do you think gold revaluation at the official level is a possibility? What ultimately how which direction do you think this ultimately plays out and when do you think this bull market does it?
Brien Lundin (17:11.412)
Yeah, I don't think gold revaluation does much. It it cleans up the balance sheet, but you know, governments, especially the government that issues the world's reserve currency, doesn't really worry about the balance sheet too much. deficits is w are one thing, debt is another is as well.
But you know, the having the ability to borrow at a better credit rating doesn't really matter for the US. You know, it has a lot of other reasons why it has the the best credit rating out there. I think there may be at some point a reset because of the, you know, we've had forty some odd years. This is my primary thesis. We've had four and a half decades going on five of ever easier money, not just easy money, but ever easier money.
And because of that, we've had ever greater debt accumulation. If you know the money's getting cheaper, well, you want to accumulate and you will accumulate ever greater debts. Now we're at we're we're in the end game of that, however long it lasts. At the end of it, there will be such a relatively rapid depreciation of currency purchasing power that the only way to reinstate or regain that credibility.
for currencies, for fiat currencies, would be to establish it to some sort of a or can reconnect to gold in some way. So I think that's probably the end game. Whether that comes in two years or 20 years or more, I don't think anyone knows, but we have to recognize that trend toward a more rapid depreciation of purchasing power. That's gonna mean you want to own gold, you want to own silver.
And you want to own investments like mining stocks that leverage that trend. and it's really as simple as that. Everything else, you know, if you recognize that long-term trend, do you want to buy the dips and and the opportunities that the market hands you in that regard?
Craig (19:09.751)
Brian, you've done a great job of helping people all these decades through both the Gold Newsletter and that Golden Opportunities newsletter. And certainly the conference that you organize every year at the end of October, I you can't even imagine how that has helped people over the years to bring them information, fair, objective, independent information that then they can analyze for themselves and take action. I know it's brought money, is happy to work with you, and it's been a pleasure to get a chance to visit with you, Brian. thank you so much for your time.
Brien Lundin (19:39.168)
Same here, Craig. As I said, I'm a big fan. Our business model for the New Orleans Conference is to bring the best to investors. And I'm so happy you're joining us this year because that's part of the business model. You're the best at what you do. and and I'm excited that you're going to bring that to our conference this year.
Craig (19:58.316)
Well, that's very kind of you to say, and I look forward to shaking your hand in person. in the meantime, I want to thank everybody for watching. Of course, all of this content brought to you by Sprott Money. And you can find great deals on precious metal and storing that precious metal at SprottMoney dot com. Of course you can also call them and talk to a human being, an actual human being. They can walk you through the process too at eight eight eight eight six one zero seven seven five.
One last thing, hit the like or subscribe button because we're not done with June. There's more content to come. If you like or subscribe to whatever channel you've been watching, you'll be notified as soon as it goes live. And you're gonna want to hear what's coming next. How do I phrase this, Brian? To let people know there's a certain well regarded natural resource investor from the Great White North who likes to stop in semi annually.
and have a discussion. Santa Claus himself may be having that discussion with me in a week or so. And you're not going to want to miss it. So hit that like or subscribe button so you can watch it as soon as it gets posted. anyway, Brian, thank you so much for your time. It's been great to visit with you.
Brien Lundin (21:12.384)
Thank you, Craig.
Craig (21:14.008)
And from all of us, SprottMoney, SprottMoney.com, thanks for watching. But like I said, keep an eye on this channel for more content to come here in the month of June.
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