Metal and mining exchange traded funds (ETFs) continue to get a rise from a slowing dollar here and continued power outages in South Africa.

Yesterday, the SPDR S&P Metals and Mining (XME) jumped to a record high, thanks to a broad-based rally in the commodities sector overall, reports Wangfeng Zhou for Thomson Financial.

Gold is still strong, too, and funds related to it continue to perform handsomely, thanks to the falling dollar and the commodity’s appeal as a safe haven. streetTRACKS Gold Shares (GLD) is up 11.1% year-to-date. iShares COMEX Gold Trust (IAU) is up 11.2%, and Market Vectors Gold Miners (GDX) is up 8.2%.

Silver, a somewhat more volatile metal than gold and platinum, has recently experienced climbing prices, as well. Its ETFs are falling in step with the upward momentum: iShares Silver Trust (SLV) is up 18.2% year-to-date, while the PowerShares DB Silver (DBS) is up 16.8%.

Platinum, for which there is no U.S.-listed ETF, also reached new heights after investors worried that the power issues in South Africa will cause a drop in inventory. The metal hit $2,173 on Tuesday, reports Sean Brodrick for Money and Markets. The question is: is this a short-term upswing, or are people going to have to dig deep into their pockets for platinum from here on out?

As the market continues to slump and South Africa’s power outages and poor infrastructure continue to interrupt mining work, these ETFs and metals could see continued performance for the foreseeable future.

Tags: Emerging Markets, Energy, GLD, IAU, Infrastructure, Material ETFs, Metals, Platinum, Silver, South Africa

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