Gold Nears $4,200 As Weak Jobs Data Cools Rate-Hike Bets, Agnico Eagle Halts Barnat Pit

(MENAFN- Investor Ideas) newswire ) a trusted platform for investing ideas including gold and mining stocks issues market commentary on today's precious metals movers.

Gold climbed toward $4,200 an ounce Friday, with Trading Economics quoting spot prices near $4,183.45 an ounce, up 1.47 percent on the day and extending Thursday's break above $4,100. Trading Economics notes its gold quote is an OTC reference price rather than the official benchmark fix.

The rally follows a much weaker than expected US June jobs report released Thursday. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported nonfarm payrolls rose just 57,000, the fewest in four months, versus a 115,000 consensus forecast from economists surveyed by Dow Jones, while the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.2 percent as the labor force participation rate fell to 61.5 percent, its lowest since March 2021. April and May payrolls were revised down by a combined 74,000. Traders took a potential September rate hike off the table following the report, though futures still point to a possible increase in October, according to CME Group's FedWatch gauge.

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Canada's largest gold miner delivered a harder operational catalyst of its own. Agnico Eagle Mines reported that a rock mass movement occurred July 1 along the north wall of the Barnat open pit at the Canadian Malartic complex in Quebec. The company said there were no injuries, equipment damage or environmental impact, but mining in the Barnat pit was suspended as a precaution while the mill is fed low grade stockpile ore in its place. Agnico said the affected area had previously been flagged for weaker geological structures and was already under enhanced geotechnical monitoring.

The same disclosure quantified the hit: Agnico expects the wall movement to reduce Canadian Malartic production by 60,000 to 80,000 ounces in the second half of 2026, with an impact of up to roughly 150,000 ounces annually in 2027 and 2028. Second quarter 2026 production itself is not expected to be affected, with the company still guiding to roughly 845,000 gold ounces for the quarter, slightly ahead of plan. Updated production and cost guidance will follow with full second quarter results on July 29.

OR Royalties, which holds a 5.0 percent net smelter return royalty on nearly all Barnat reserves, said its 2026 gold equivalent ounce delivery guidance and five year outlook are unchanged. Despite the bullion tailwind, the S&P/TSX Composite traded modestly lower intraday Friday, down roughly 0.42 percent, as Agnico's company specific weakness offset broader strength across the materials sector. Agnico shares had already fallen several percent in Thursday's session on the Barnat news.

Friday's move keeps gold on track for one of its stronger weeks since the second quarter's sharp pullback, when the metal booked its worst quarterly performance since 2013 as markets priced in a higher for longer rate path. The reversal in rate expectations following Thursday's payrolls miss illustrates how sensitive bullion remains to shifts in Fed policy expectations, even as central bank buying continues to provide a structural bid underneath the market.

US equity and bond markets are closed today for the observed Independence Day holiday, so gold, commodities and the Toronto Stock Exchange are carrying most of Friday's live price action; US markets reopen Monday, July 6. Price and volume figures above are intraday snapshots captured this morning and can change materially by the close.

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