GDX is more than double the size of GDXJ, but the latter can still easily be considered a “large” ETF with $5.3 billion in assets under management as of Feb. 27, according to issuer data.
GDX is comprised of global gold miners, with a notable tilt toward Canadian and U.S. mining companies. Nevertheless, gold assets may have further room to fall if the U.S. dollar and real bond yields continue to rise.
Late last year, big-name gold ETFs have incurred double-digit losses and gold’s weakness over that span is prompting some analysts to lower their 2017 forecasts on the yellow metal. GLD and rival gold ETFs recently dealt with the Federal Reserve’s first interest rate hike of 2016 and now face the specter of up to three more rate increases next year.
“Gold mining companies have rallied along with other precious metal as real interest rates, which jumped after the U.S. election, have been retreating. Strategists at UBS Group AG have predicted that rising market-based measures of inflation expectations will push real rates lower and propel gold toward $1,300 per ounce,” according to Bloomberg.
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