A new year has brought a renaissance of sorts for gold exchange traded funds and gold’s restored luster is crimping traders that have bearish on the yellow metal.
With the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD), the world’s largest gold ETF, up nearly 8% to start 2015 and the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSEArca: GDX) and the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSEArca: GDXJ) ranking as two of the best non-leveraged ETFs of any stripe to this point in the new year, those bearish on gold are paying a steep price.
Gold is now eying a move to $1,300 per troy ounce, which could further complicate matters for traders betting against the yellow metal.
“Taking a look at GLD’s chart, shows an Inverted Head and Shoulders Pattern with a projected target around $130, but it’s got to get through resistance at $121 first,” according to Captain John Charts.
Chart Courtesy: Captain John Charts
After the Swiss National Bank shocked financial markets by scrapping the franc’s peg to the euro, GLD gained about 3% last Thursday, moving above its 200-day moving average for the first time since September, stoking speculation that the franc’s rally could spark a commodities countertrend that would ignite a raft of short covering across the commodities complex. [Swissie Could Stoke Commodities Rebound]
“Aggregate open interest in gold futures on Jan. 15 surged 5.6 percent, the most since October 2009. Gold climbed to a four-month high on Friday, while call options for the right to own February futures at $1,300 an ounce soared sevenfold in two days,” report Joe Deaux and Laura Clarke for Bloomberg.