With Greece inching ever so slowly toward a second bailout, many investors are wondering about the next steps for gold exchange traded funds if the Eurozone debt situation shows signs of easing.
“The instability of the Eurozone provides for conflicting price drivers. While fears surrounding the potential downfall of this globally economically significant region have bolstered demand for gold as a safe haven, a weakening euro strengthens the U.S. dollar. This, in turn, places downward price pressure on dollar-denominated assets, including gold,” wrote Abraham Ballin for Morningstar, in a recent analysis.
Gold ETFs such as the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (NYSEArca: GLD) and the ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares (NYSEArca: SGOL) were down on Friday amid reports Greece talks hit a snag as the troubled country negotiates more financial aid. Gold prices remain above $1,700 an ounce. [Measuring the Impact of Gold ETFs]
Gold’s price appreciation over the past few years also led to some profit taking over the last month, reports Christian Magoon for Seeking Alpha. Physical gold has risen about 10%, surpassing gains made in 2011. Furthermore, gold stock ETFs have outperformed all gold ETFs in performance this year, reports Magoon. [Gold ETF Investors Say Pullback is ‘Excessive’]
The positive jobs data coming from the U.S. last week lowered the unemployment rate to 8.3%. Speculation of another round of quantitative easing from the Federal Reserve is another factor that will drive gold ETFs this year.