The risk is that miners ETFs have a well-established vulnerability to lower gold prices, a fact confirmed by GDX falling 3.5% on Monday on volume that was more than 44% above the daily average. GDX closed below its 200-day moving average for the first time since June.
At times like this, looking at leveraged miners ETFs can be instructive for those willing to depart from the herd. Consider the following. Since the start of September, two of Direxion’s three best-performing triple-leveraged bear ETFs are the Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bear 3X Shares (NYSEArca: DUST) and the Direxion Daily Junior Gold Miners Index Bear 3X Shares (NYSEArca: JDST). Yet investors have pulled money from those ETFs over the past 30 days, according to issuer data.
Conversely, the Direxion Daily Junior Gold Miners Index Bull 3x Share (NYSEArca: JNUG) and the Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bull 3X Shares (NYSEArca: NUGT) are two of September’s worst-performing leveraged bull ETFs sponsored by Direxion, but investors have added new money to those ETFs over the past month.
Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF
Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of GLD.