Why Gold Bulls Should Not Fear This Selloff | Rick Rule

The Deep Dive Jun 26, 2026

Summary

Higher nominal US interest rates and a hawkish Fed explain the gold selloff, Rule argues, while the fiscal problems behind gold remain unresolved.

He ranks $120 trillion in unfunded US entitlement liabilities, not private credit, as the biggest debt problem hiding behind gold's case.

Official inflation is understated, he says: saving in gold shows the US dollar losing 8 to 10% of its purchasing power annually.

As a structural buyer he wants lower gold equity prices, calling quality names like Agnico Eagle and Franco-Nevada a gift to generalists.

Precious metals hold under half a percent of US investment assets versus a 2% forty-year mean, so mean reversion could quadruple demand.

Rule names Agnico Eagle among the very high-quality gold stocks whose recent share-price decline he calls of real use to generalist investors who lack a sufficient gold position, noting such companies require little study to own.
He adds that the quality names touted as takeover targets six months before the June 2026 interview are still takeover targets, only about 40% cheaper.

Rule cites Franco-Nevada as one of the very high-quality names whose price decline he views as a gift to generalist investors not yet positioned in gold stocks, requiring little study to own.
He argues the selling pressure on names like Franco-Nevada is indiscriminate, as investors who never understood why they bought now sell quality assets about 40% cheaper than six months earlier.

Rule lists Wheaton Precious Metals with Franco-Nevada and Agnico Eagle as high-quality companies whose decline he considers of real use to generalist investors building a gold stock position.
He suggests the weakness in such names reflects indiscriminate selling ahead of further expected summer softness, which he would treat as a buying opportunity as a structural buyer.

Top takeaway Argues the B.C. condo-developer bailout shows Ottawa will not let real estate prices fall because the sector has become too important to Canada's economy, with developers largely funded by the government-run mortgage corporation.
Relays a well-known Wall Street short seller's warning that private credit and private equity have grown completely out of hand and could end US economic primacy, and asks Rule to size the risk.
Cites the Air Canada bailout's salary-cap covenant, undermined by bonuses and share-based compensation, as an example of government rescues working to the taxpayer's disadvantage.
Contends the Canadian economy is weaker than reported, citing empty restaurants and a CBC report that roughly 90% of Canadian restaurants expect lower revenue or profit this year.

Top takeaway Argues the selloff does not change his long-term bullish case: volatility and cyclicality are normal in a bull market, and gold is falling on higher nominal US interest rates and a hawkish Fed rather than on any change in the fiscal fundamentals he watches.
Says he is a structural buyer, not a seller: he wants lower gold and gold-equity prices through the summer of 2026, is keeping liquidity dry for a possible parabolic down move, and calls the weakness in quality names a gift to generalist investors.
Estimates the US dollar is losing 8-10% of its purchasing power a year versus official US inflation of about 2.8%, and says he would need a roughly 10-12% 10-year Treasury yield — about 200 basis points of real yield — to prefer it over gold.
Rejects the permabull label: he sold 25% of his juniors during last October's parabolic up-move and his physical silver in January's, advising investors to sell parabolic up-moves and buy parabolic down-moves.
Calls the net present value of more than $120 trillion in unfunded US entitlement liabilities the biggest debt problem — bigger than private credit, which he judges manageable in size though its collapse victims are politically well connected.