US Debt Makes Gold Unsellable | Rick Rule

Veteran resource investor Rick Rule shares his macro views on gold, silver, oil, copper, and the broader natural resource sector in this June 2026 interview with Mat Youkee. He remains a systematic long-term saver in gold but hopes for near-term price weakness to accumulate more, while warning of significant U.S. dollar devaluation ahead and persistent political/resource nationalism risk for mining and energy companies.

• Gold is currently weak due to a strong U.S. dollar driven by the Gulf conflict (flight to quality) and higher U.S. interest rates; Rick is a systematic gold saver since 2000 and hopes for lower prices in the near term to buy more, but remains structurally very bullish over the next decade as he expects the dollar to lose substantial purchasing power similar to the 1970s.
• Energy markets face severe long-term supply constraints from chronic underinvestment (over $1 billion per day for years) now exacerbated by the Gulf crisis; Rick still holds his major oil positions such as ExxonMobil but notes they are less attractive at current elevated prices and advises investors to maintain liquidity to navigate volatility.
• Political risk and resource nationalism are inevitable when commodity margins expand — governments will “steal” via higher taxes, regulations, or nationalization regardless of jurisdiction; investors must assume roughly half the project economics will ultimately go to the host government.
• Silver typically follows gold in bull markets once generalist investors enter; Rick sold 80% of his physical silver after the recent sharp rally (when silver moved from being “hated” to a hyperbolic move) and now prefers high-quality silver stocks over physical metal, citing names such as Wheaton Precious Metals, Pan American Metals, and others.
• Copper faces possible near-term price weakness due to slowing economic activity and higher financing costs, but Rick is strongly bullish long-term due to massive structural underinvestment and exploding demand (especially from AI data centers), warning the world will need to produce more copper in the next 25 years than has been mined in all of recorded history.
• Rick has significantly de-risked his speculative junior portfolio (selling ~20% last October and recouping his entire cost plus taxes) while maintaining a concentrated high-quality core; he emphasizes that in resource bull markets investors make most of their returns from sector beta and should focus on 10–12 quality names held patiently for years.