Gold ETFs have rebounded somewhat early this week with the precious metal testing $1,600 an ounce following two weeks of declines.
SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD) is down 9% over the last three months.
Gold futures have been under pressure recently on lower safe-haven demand as the global economy recovers, reports Debarati Roy for Bloomberg.
Gold dipped below $1,600 on speculation the Federal Reserve will wind down its quantitative easing earlier than anticipated.
“The world is not falling apart, and gold is no longer indispensable,” Adam Klopfenstein, a senior market strategist at Archer Financial Services Inc., said in the article. “The fact that the U.S. is talking about ending the stimulus program tells us that the economy is doing relatively better.”
“The waning down of the safe-haven play has definitely put pressure on gold, as we have seen the risk-on trade into equities for well over a month now,” said Matthew Schilling, senior commodities trader at RJ O’Brien, said in a Reuters article.
Consequently, investors have been pulling out of gold ETFs in droves. GLD saw its largest weekly outflow since August 2011 after the height of gold prices. So far this year, the ETF has seen $3.1 billion in net redemptions. [Investors Yank Over $3 Billion from Largest Gold ETF]