Analysts are closely watching the performance of gold, as many are anticipating the $1,000 mark, so which exchange traded fund (ETF) should investors be ready to play?

From April 17 through May 26, gold bullion jumped from $ 867.90 to $953.90 an ounce — a 10% gain in less than six weeks, says Ron Rowland for iStock Analyst. Market watchers are thinking that gold may break the $1,000 mark sooner than later.

One of the best ways to access the physical metal without actual holding is through ETFs.  There are other ways to access the metal, such as options trading or futures, but those are complicated. Going to a physical dealer and buying gold coins was another old way, but the holding is tricky and enough to make anyone paranoid. It all boils down to the fact that however you choose to play the metal, there are a variety of easy ways to do it with ETFs.

ETFs That Hold Bullion. By owning funds that hold gold bullion, you can follow along with the spot price of gold without having to deal with finding and paying for storage of the physical metal. Two funds that hold bullion are SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) and iShares COMEX Gold Trust (IAU).

ETFs That Hold Gold Futures. If you’d like to own gold futures instead, without the trouble of rolling them over or just the plain expense of futures investing, PowerShares DB Gold (DGL) is an option.

Play the People Who Mine the Gold. Instead of investing in the physical metal or futures, you can hold a basket of stocks representing the companies involved in the mining and processing of gold via the Market Vectors Gold Miners (GDX).

Hold a Diversified Basket of Precious Metals. As with any asset class, it can be hard to choose which commodity is going to outperform the rest. Why not diversify a little? PowerShares DB Precious Metals (DBP) holds both gold and silver futures, so you can capitalize on the moves of both metals.

Go Short. If you think gold is going to lose value or you want a short-term hedge in your portfolio, ProShares UltraShort Gold (GLL) may be an option if you’re aware of the risks. Remember that short and leveraged ETFs rebalance daily and are not intended for buy-and-hold use.

Tags: Commodity ETFs, DBP, DGL, ETF 101, GDX, GLD, GLL, Gold, Gold Miners, IAU, Long-Short ETFs, Precious Metals, Silver