May 20, 2026
Earlier this week, Peter joined Danny on CapitalCosm to warn that a dangerous combo of higher energy prices and rising interest rates is squeezing Americans and shifting investor behavior. He connects those forces to a renewed move into gold and silver as hedges, lays out the likely political fallout for Republicans in the midterms, and argues that the AI boom is lifting demand for metals beyond the hype.
He warns that Americans are headed into the worst of both worlds - higher energy and higher borrowing costs - and that investors are already voting with their wallets toward precious metals and away from confidence in lower oil prices:
That's the worst of all possible outcomes for Americans because their cost of energy is going up and interest rates are going up at the same time. And the markets are moving into gold and silver as a hedge against higher inflation, which also is going to be a big negative for the US. So I think that it's significant that you're seeing this because I think investors are just starting to accept that higher oil prices are here to stay.
Peter connects the pocketbook pain to politics, saying higher rates and gas will cost Republicans support and could produce major losses at the polls:
Well, rising interest rates and rising mortgage rates are going to be a negative impact for the Republicans in the midterms because they're going to get blamed for the increase in costs. They're also obviously going to get blamed for higher oil prices. The Republicans own that and it's not going to bode well for Republicans because voters are going to be very upset because when they voted Republican in 2024, they voted for lower prices, not for higher prices and they voted to end wars, not to start them.
He cautions that even if Congress blusters, the short-term impact might be limited - but warns about the long game if Democrats later control the White House and both chambers:
Well, the actual impact may be minimal because I don't necessarily expect anything to get through. I don't necessarily think Trump's going to sign anything that the Democratic Congress passes unless it's just a big stimulus, which he's never seen a stimulus bill he didn't support. So if it's going to run up the deficits and spend more money, Trump will sign it. And I think what's more significant is that it's going to be forecasting what's going to happen in 2028 when the Democrats also regain the White House and then they have the trifecta.
Peter sees the AI boom as one driver of demand for industrial and precious metals, and he argues that exposure to metals is a safer way to play tech-led growth than chasing overvalued equities:
I think it's obviously being powered by the A.I. bubble, but silver is still up more this year than the NASDAQ. I think silver is now up close to 20 percent and maybe the NASDAQ is up 13 percent. So I think, you know, if you're bullish on the A.I. build out just buy silver, I think it's a much safer way to play it. Or uranium or any of these other metals, too. Rare earth metals, copper. Yeah, I mean, they're going to go up regardless. Even if the A.I. bubble pops, there's a lot of other reasons for these precious metals to keep rising.
Finally, he turns to geopolitics, arguing the Iran war and related turmoil are indirectly strengthening China's strategic position and reputation, and that the U.S. does not hold all the cards in that relationship:
I think they've got all the cards in this relationship, not us. And I think that we have improved China's position with the war with Iran. I think China is one of the winners of that war. Even though they're not fighting it, I think their global reputation is being enhanced. And in the meantime, to the extent that there's any kind of military conflict in the future, China is not the one that's launching all their missiles and blowing up all their bombs.
This article was originally published on SchiffGold.com.