Week of May 26–28, 2026
Gold and Silver This Week
Gold opened the holiday-shortened week around $4,520 and sold off steadily after Memorial Day, hitting $4,380 by Wednesday morning — its lowest since late March. The selloff came from renewed U.S. military strikes on Iranian targets, which reignited inflation fears, pushed Treasury yields higher, and firmed the dollar to a one-week high.
Silver fell harder. Spot silver dropped from the $77 range on Monday to around $75 by midweek — roughly a 4% weekly decline. The gold-silver ratio widened as silver’s industrial demand narrative lost ground to the stronger dollar.
Both metals remain well below their 2026 highs. The secular bull case hasn’t changed — central bank buying continues, supply deficits persist in silver, and geopolitical risk isn’t going anywhere — but the short-term trade is fighting a hawkish Fed and a dollar that won’t quit.
The biggest macro wildcard landed Wednesday: The Guardian reported that President Trump shared a draft Iran peace agreement with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and other allied leaders. U.S. and Iranian negotiators reportedly have a 60-day memorandum of understanding on the table that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and set the stage for sanctions negotiations. Netanyahu has pushed back on conditions related to Lebanon and insists on full dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capability. Trump also pressed Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and others to sign onto an expanded Abraham Accords. If a deal materializes, expect a sharp reversal — lower oil would ease inflation fears, weaken the dollar, and likely send gold higher on renewed rate-cut expectations.
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CIA Officer Arrested With $40 Million in Gold Bars
David Rush, a former senior CIA official, was arrested by the FBI after agents searched his Fairfax County home and seized approximately 303 one-kilogram gold bars — worth over $40 million at current prices — along with roughly $2 million in cash and approximately 35 luxury watches.
According to federal prosecutors, Rush requested and received large quantities of foreign currency and gold bars from the agency between November and March, ostensibly for operational expenses. Instead, he kept them. The FBI also accused Rush of fabricating his educational credentials — including fake Clemson University transcripts — when he first enlisted in the Navy in 1997, a deception he carried into his CIA career.
Rush was arrested on May 19 and faces charges of criminal theft of public money. Three hundred kilos of gold is roughly 9,645 troy ounces — the equivalent of about 96 standard 100 oz bars.
Fake Silver Eagles Flooding eBay
An NBC Connecticut investigation tested four American Silver Eagle coins purchased from eBay listings priced around $25 — a fraction of the $90+ market price for a genuine 1 oz Silver Eagle.
All four were fake. X-ray fluorescence testing by Element Materials Technology showed the coins were primarily copper with less than 1% silver content. One coin from a sponsored eBay listing tested at over 61% copper. Six Connecticut coin collectors independently reported that counterfeit Silver Eagle listings have become a growing problem on the platform as silver prices have more than doubled since May 2025.
If the price looks too good to be true, it is. Buy from dealers who authenticate their inventory and offer return policies.
Compare Silver Eagle prices from vetted dealers →
US Mint Releases This Week
The Mint began accepting orders today (May 28) at noon ET for the 2026 American Eagle One Ounce Gold Enhanced Uncirculated Coin — the first Gold Eagle ever struck with the enhanced uncirculated finish. Priced at $5,370, the release is limited to 7,500 units from the West Point facility with a one-per-household order limit. It carries dual dates (1776 ~ 2026) and a Liberty Bell privy mark, part of the semiquincentennial commemorative lineup.
On Monday, the Mint also began selling rolls and bags of the 2026 Enduring Liberty half dollar — the first half dollar without President Kennedy’s portrait since 1964. The one-year semiquincentennial design features a close-up of the Statue of Liberty on the obverse and Liberty passing her torch to a new generation on the reverse. Two-roll sets are $60 and 200-coin bags $180, with product limits of 100,000 and 50,000 respectively. Some are already turning up in circulation — the Mint started shipping them to Federal Reserve Banks earlier this year.
Read our full guide to 2026 Gold Eagle releases →
Hero Bullion Launches USA 250 Silver Bar Series
Dealer Hero Bullion released a new limited-mintage silver bar series from Elemetal celebrating America’s 250th anniversary. The standout piece is a 5 oz bar shaped like the contiguous United States, with the obverse featuring a montage of American landmarks — Mount Rushmore, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Gateway Arch, and a depiction of the Iwo Jima flag raising. The reverse highlights innovation: Edison’s lightbulb, the Wright Brothers’ aircraft, a space shuttle, and the Statue of Liberty. Available in multiple sizes with strictly limited 2026-only mintage.
Nicaragua Returns Seized Gold Plant
Nicaragua’s government agreed this week to return the Palacagüina gold processing plant to BHMB Mining, the U.S.-British company that built and operated the $80 million facility before the Ortega government seized it in August 2025 and transferred control to Chinese-linked firms Zhong Fu Development and Santa Rita Mining.
The seizure triggered U.S. Treasury sanctions in April 2026 against the Chinese companies and Nicaraguan officials involved. BHMB had also filed for international arbitration. The combination of sanctions pressure and legal exposure appears to have forced the return — a reminder that physical gold mining assets carry sovereign risk.
The $250 Bill
The Washington Post reported that Treasury officials are pushing to create a new $250 bill featuring President Trump’s portrait. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing has begun preparatory design work tied to H.R. 1761, the “Donald J. Trump $250 Bill Act” introduced by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC). Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the department has prepared the design, anticipating passage.
The proposal faces legal hurdles — the 1866 Thayer Amendment prohibits featuring living persons on U.S. currency, and current law doesn’t authorize a $250 denomination. High-denomination bills ($500, $1,000, $5,000, $10,000) were last printed in 1945 and officially discontinued in 1969. A $250 note would be the first new denomination in over 80 years.
What are old $1,000 bills worth today? →
Hong Kong Building Asia’s Gold Clearing Hub
Hong Kong is targeting a July launch for a new government-backed gold clearing system designed to position the city as Asia’s preeminent bullion trading hub. The system, operated by the Hong Kong Precious Metals Central Clearing Company, will mirror London’s unallocated account settlement infrastructure.
In January, the clearing company signed a memorandum of understanding with the Shanghai Gold Exchange — the world’s largest physical gold exchange by volume — creating a settlement pipeline between mainland China’s gold market and an internationally accessible clearing system. Hong Kong currently holds about 200 tonnes of gold storage capacity, with plans to expand beyond 2,000 tonnes by 2029. More clearing infrastructure means more liquidity, tighter spreads, and eventually more pricing transparency across Asian time zones.
What We’re Watching
The Iran situation remains the dominant macro driver. Any de-escalation could trigger a sharp reversal in both metals. Silver’s industrial supply deficit story — six consecutive years and nearly 762 million ounces of cumulative drawdowns — hasn’t changed, but it’s temporarily subordinate to the dollar trade. Premiums on physical metal remain historically compressed.
