Gold and silver exchange traded funds (ETFs) were poised to open higher Wednesday in U.S. trading as the dollar continued to weaken and gold rose above $1,500 an ounce.
SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD) and iShares Silver Trust (NYSEArca: SLV) were up fractionally in premarket action Wednesday. Meanwhile, PowerShares DB US Dollar Bullish Fund (NYSEArca: UUP) was set to open lower as the greenback fell against its currency rivals.
“The dollar has lost ground to its major counterparts,” James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com in London, said in a report to clients, according to Bloomberg. “The mix of inflation, currency debasement, euro zone debt and Middle East and North African unrest continues to fuel investment demand [for gold].”
Silver prices climbed to a fresh 31-year high as the metal has outperformed gold handily this year.
“Silver is still going nuts. It continues to outperform gold, which I find a little but worrisome, but we haven’t seemed to find a top yet so it continues to be well bid and supported,” a Country Hedging analyst told FastMarkets.