Gold Mining Stocks Look Like a ‘Gold Mine.’ Start Buying Now Before Time Runs Out.

Precious metals, which were the best-performing asset class in 2025, have been under pressure this year. The sharp decline in gold (GCQ26) and silver prices (SIN26) has taken a toll on the share prices of companies that mine them. Looking at some of the gold miners, both Anglogold Ashanti (AU) and Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM) have fallen nearly 40% from their 2026 highs and are in a deep bear market.

In my previous article in March, I had noted that Anglogold Ashanti was a buy after the dip at that time. The stock recovered subsequently but has since plunged below that level. Now let's analyze whether it's time to double down on gold mining stocks or whether more pain lies ahead.

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Gold peaked above $5,500 per troy ounce in January but has since fallen to around $4,100. Several factors have driven gold lower; for instance, inflation has risen over the last few months amid the spike in energy prices. U.S. retail inflation as measured by the consumer price index (CPI) rose at an annualized pace of 4.2% in May, which was the highest in three years. Inflation has been above the Fed's 2% target for more than five years now, and the possibility of it falling below that threshold looks dim in the near term. Meanwhile, according to the U.S. government, the economy has been on a solid footing, and the labor market has been quite healthy despite fears of artificial intelligence (AI) led layoffs. A resilient economy and high inflation make the case for an interest rate hike.

Meanwhile, the Fed has been on a rate-cutting spree since September 2024 and last cut rates by 25 basis points in December 2025. Until about a few months back, the discussion was whether the Fed would cut rates further or stay put. However, we are now in a scenario where markets are debating whether the next interest rate move could actually be upwards. Notably, fewer than a third of the traders on the CME FedWatch tool see the Fed funds rate at current or lower levels by the end of this year, while the remainder see it going higher. Rising interest rates are theoretically negative for gold, which is a non-interest-bearing asset and therefore loses out to interest-bearing assets in periods of high interest rates.