The SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD), iShares Gold Trust (NYSEArca: IAU) and other gold exchange traded funds have traded lower over the past month as the U.S. dollar has gained momentum, highlighting the usually inverse relationship between commodities and the greenback.
GLD is the largest physically backed gold ETF on the market, providing investors exposure to gold price movement in an easy-to-use investment vehicle. The ETF is backed by physical gold bars stored in London vaults. The gold trust currently holds about 27.2 million ounces of gold, so each SDPR Gold Shares represents fractional ownership of the underlying gold.
Some gold market observers believe the yellow can firm up and trend higher next year as the dollar retreats. At least one gold bull believes bullion could return to $1,400 for the first time since 2013.
“The precious metal will start to rebound in the final quarter of this year to average $1,375 an ounce in the last three months of next year and could touch a high of $1,400, said Bart Melek, global head of commodity strategy at TD Securities in Toronto,” reports Bloomberg.
Interest Rates
Another issue for gold is that the Federal Reserve meets in June and is widely expected to boost interest rates at that meeting, which would likely be a negative for gold. Over the past several years, gold has often declined heading into Fed meetings when investors widely expected a rate increase.