New York, Jan 7, 2026, 17:35 EST — After-hours
- Newmont closed down 1.1% after flagging a first-quarter production hit at its Boddington mine in Western Australia
- Gold prices pulled back as investors took profits; traders are eyeing Friday’s U.S. payrolls report
- Gold miners’ trading was mixed, with the sector ETF lower on the day
Newmont shares slipped on Wednesday after the gold miner said bushfire damage to water-supply infrastructure at its Boddington operation in Western Australia will trim first-quarter output. The stock closed down 1.1% at $108.01 in New York, after trading as low as $104.56. Newmont said the fire was contained on Dec. 28 but remains active, and it expects the plant to run at 50%-60% of normal rates until repairs are complete in February, putting about 60,000 ounces at risk in the quarter.
The timing matters. Gold stocks have run hard with bullion near records, and the trade has become crowded in places. When that happens, a single operational hiccup can move a big miner more than the metal does.
Spot gold, the price for immediate delivery, was down 0.9% at $4,445.32 an ounce by early afternoon, while U.S. gold futures settled 0.7% lower at $4,462.50. “We’re viewing today’s pullback as general profit taking after that recent surge,” David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures, said. Markets are pricing about 61 basis points of Federal Reserve cuts this year — roughly 0.61 percentage point — with attention turning to Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report after softer job openings and private payrolls data. Reuters
Newmont still sits close to Tuesday’s 52-week high, after a three-day winning streak snapped.
The broader gold stock tape was uneven. The VanEck Gold Miners ETF fell 1.2% and Royal Gold slipped 0.7%, while Agnico Eagle added 0.8%.
But the path from here is not clean. A firmer dollar or a deeper pullback in bullion could squeeze margins, and any delay in restoring water supplies at Boddington would risk pushing the production hit further into 2026.
Investors will look for updates on Boddington throughput in coming weeks and for Newmont’s next quarterly results; Nasdaq’s earnings calendar estimates the report around Feb. 19, though the company has not confirmed a date.
