Gold exchange traded funds rose on a knee-jerk reaction Thursday, following the European Central Bank’s aggressive bond-purchasing plan, as traders anticipated a rise in inflation. However, investors soon realized that the ECB actions would benefit the dollar or weigh on USD-denominated bullion.
The SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD) has increased 10.3% year-to-date but was down 0.9% Friday.
Gold strengthened Thursday after traders assumed the ECB’s quantitative easing would flood the market with cash and induce inflationary pressures, but many soon realized that the money created were euros and not dollars. [Another Fine Day for Gold and Gold ETFs]
Since the ECB’s announcement, the euro continued to depreciate toward an 11-year low against the U.S. dollar. Consequently, the stronger USD should hurt gold as it becomes costlier for foreign traders to acquire USD-denominated assets.
“What you saw was uncertainty about what the ECB was going to do—I think that’s what lifted gold higher. But I think now that this is all going to kind of settle down,” Anthony Grisanti of GRZ Energy, said on CNBC. “I don’t understand why you would think something that would strengthen our dollar would strengthen gold at this point.”
Alternatively, gold ETF traders can take a look at the AdvisorShares Gartman Gold/Euro ETF (NYSEArca: GEUR), an actively managed ETF tracking gold in euro terms. While GLD dipped Friday, GEUR gained 1.2%.
“Holding gold in a non-U.S. dollar denominated currency may help to limit the downside risk during stressed market environments where the U.S. dollar becomes a safe haven store of value,” according to AdvisorShares.
Some gold investors quickly picked up on the GEUR trade as well, with the Gold/Euro ETF trading volume up to 65,000 late Friday, or more than 10 times its average daily volume, according to Morningstar data.
Looking at the futures market, COMEX gold traded down 0.7% to $1,291.6 per ounce late Friday, whereas Euro Spot gold rose 0.5% to €1,151.1 per ounce.
AdvisorShares Gartman Gold/Euro ETF
For more information on the gold markets, visit our gold category.
Full disclosure: Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of GLD.