Gold exchange traded funds were moving lower Thursday after the Chicago Mercantile Exchange raised margin requirements to trade Comex gold futures contracts.
SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD) was down more than 2% in midday trading.
Silver prices plunged this spring following similar margin hikes in silver prices.
The CME raised margins on gold contracts by 22% after the precious metal recently touched $1,800 an ounce.
For traders, the question is whether the CME move will slow gold’s powerful rise with investors worried over the European debt crisis, U.S. credit downgrade and a weak global economy.
The gold ETF was up about 26% through Wednesday’s close.
“There’s certainly a reasonably large volume on Comex and it will add some downward pressure, but it won’t be sufficient to prevent gold from remaining at elevated levels,” said Darren Heathcote, Sydney-based head of trading at Investec Bank (Australia) Ltd., in a Bloomberg report.
SPDR Gold Shares
Full disclosure: Tom Lydon’s clients own GLD.