The weekly read — Week of Aug 21 – Aug 28, 2026

Week of Aug 21 – Aug 28, 2026

The take

Gold added 10% in August—its strongest month since January—after soft U.S. inflation data flipped September Fed expectations and central banks bought a record 289 tonnes in Q2. Emerging markets rode an AI-fueled semiconductor rally to their best four-week gain since June, up 4.8%. Year-to-date commodities still lead at 37.7%, with EM and developed ex-U.S. equities both up 17–23%.

The week at a glance

• This week — Gold fell 3.4%, bonds gained 1%, equities flat to slightly up.
• Past 4 weeks — Gold surged 10%, EM equities 4.8%, commodities 4.6%; bonds barely moved.
• Year-to-date — Commodities +37.7% lead; EM +23.4%, developed ex-U.S. +17.8%, U.S. stocks +13.4%.

This week: gold gave back August's gains while bonds held steady

Gold fell 3.4% as traders digested August's 10% rally and Friday's Jackson Hole remarks hinting the Fed may yet hike if bond yields stay elevated. Long Treasury (TLT) rose 1.0%, while developed-market equities split: U.S. (SPY) +0.47%, developed ex-U.S. (VEA) -0.49%, emerging markets (EEM) +0.03%. Commodities (DBC) slipped 1.5%. Tech held up—QQQ +0.42%, XLK +1.3%—while the broad S&P gained less than half that, a quiet continuation of the sector rotation that has defined August. For multi-asset strategies the week brought little change: Lean Balanced -0.26%, Absolute Momentum -0.86%, All-Weather Unlevered -0.76%, all within normal noise.

Past 4 weeks: the gold and EM rally that rewrote August

Gold jumped 10.05% after soft U.S. inflation prints—CPI rose just 0.1% in July—collapsed September rate-hike odds from 50% to 31%, and central banks bought a record 289 tonnes in Q2. Emerging-market equities posted a 2.6% weekly gain, their biggest since June, driven by semiconductor names in Taiwan and South Korea. Over the four-week window EEM returned 4.76%, VEA 3.46%, SPY 2.99%. Commodities (DBC) rose 4.55%. Bonds barely budged: TLT +1.17%. Tech outran the reference index—QQQ +4.13% vs SPY +2.99%—but the real story sat in the sleeves most strategies hold. Lean Balanced returned 3.60% over the month, Absolute Momentum 4.31%, All-Weather Unlevered 4.32%; gold and EM allocations carried the gain.

Year-to-date: commodities still own 2026, EM and international close behind

Commodities rose 16% for the year through mid-2026, driven by Middle East supply disruptions that pushed energy and fertilizer prices 24% and 31% higher, leaving DBC up 37.7% year-to-date—nearly triple the return of U.S. equities. Emerging markets returned 23.4%, developed ex-U.S. 17.8%, the U.S. 13.4%. Gold added 3.2% despite August's bounce, long Treasuries -2.4%. Tech crushed: XLK +29.3%, QQQ +16.9%, both well ahead of SPY. That composition explains why diversified portfolios trail full-equity benchmarks but stay within shouting distance. Lean Balanced is up 11.9% YTD, All-Weather Unlevered 12.5%, Absolute Momentum 15.9%—each roughly 300–450 bps behind VT's 14.8%, but with materially lower drawdowns and commodity exposure that hedged equity concentration risk.

---

Sources: goldsilver.com · bulliontradingllc.com · Bloomberg · worldbank.org