London spot gold broke sequentially through $4,400, $4,500 and $4,600 per ounce this week, notching a 5.18% weekly gain and its third straight weekly rise. COMEX gold futures hit an intraday peak of $4,690 per ounce, representing a rebound of more than 16% from the July low of $4,022 per ounce.
The rally has lifted earnings across the global gold mining sector, not just A-share listed producers. Major North American miners reported robust quarterly results. Newmont, the world’s largest gold miner, posted record free cash flow of USD 3.1 billion in Q1 and approved an additional USD 6.0 billion share repurchase programme. Barrick Mining saw its Q2 net profit jump 50% year-on-year with operating cash flow rising 28%. Canada-based Agnico Eagle and Kinross Gold also delivered strong bottom-line expansion amid elevated gold prices.
In Asia, Hong Kong-listed Zijin Gold International and China Gold International recorded 179% and 153% year-on-year net profit growth respectively in their half-year results. As China’s A-share market enters peak interim reporting season, six domestic gold miners that have published H1 reports posted revenue and net profit growth, with three firms doubling net profit, according to Wind data. Smaller producers such as Zhaojin Gold and Sichuan Gold exhibited particularly high operational leverage.
Mining costs are largely fixed once operations begin, so higher gold prices directly widen margins. Combined with expanded output from newly commissioned and acquired mines across Africa, Central Asia and the Americas, many miners’ profit growth outpaced the rally in bullion prices.
Sustained central bank gold purchases globally, renewed inflows into gold ETFs, shifting Federal Reserve rate-cut expectations and concerns over U.S. fiscal health have underpinned the rally. Still, technical indicators signal short-term overbought conditions, prompting warnings of potential pullbacks.
Gold mining equities have advanced across the NYSE, TSX, Hong Kong and A-share markets, with several gold miner ETFs posting strong monthly returns. Investors are now monitoring full-year production guidance from global operators, U.S. inflation prints and Fed policy signals, which will shape the U.S. dollar and real yields, key drivers for gold prices. M&A and expansion activity in the gold sector is also picking up as producers deploy record cash flow.