Second COVID-19 Wave Could Up the Ante for Gold Prices

COVID-19 continues to be a key mover for gold and a second wave of cases can only do precious metal favors. If that’s the case, gold market experts are sensing only more upside.

“My gold outlook is biased to the upside,” said The Perth Mint CEO Richard Hayes.

“As we see a gradual easing of all the restrictions and businesses start to reopen, that will certainly have an impact on precious metals prices. What I would say listening to the CDS and the WHO is that there is a significant danger of a second COVID-19 wave,” Hayes pointed out. “If you see a second COVID-19 wave, that will give the gold price a reasonable kick along.”

Investors who want to shore up their retirement accounts with gold exposure can look at funds like the popular SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD)  and the SPDR Gold MiniShares (NYSEArca: GLDM). Precious metals like gold offer investors an alternative to diversify their holdings, and like other commodities, gold will march to the beat of its own drum compared to the broader market.

In addition to GLD and GLDM, here are a pair of other gold funds to look at:

  1. iShares Gold Trust (IAU): seeks to reflect generally the performance of the price of gold. The Trust seeks to reflect such performance before payment of the Trust’s expenses and liabilities. The Trust does not engage in any activities designed to obtain a profit from, or to ameliorate losses caused by, changes in the price of gold. The advisor intends to constitute a simple and cost-effective means of making an investment similar to an investment in gold. An investment in physical gold requires expensive and sometimes complicated arrangements in connection with the assay, transportation, warehousing, and insurance of the metal.
  2. Aberdeen Standard Gold ETF Trust (SGOL): seeks to reflect the performance of the price of gold bullion, less the Trust’s expenses. The Shares are intended to constitute a simple and cost-effective means of making an investment similar to an investment in gold. An investment in physical gold requires expensive and sometimes complicated arrangements in connection with the assay, transportation, warehousing, and insurance of the metal. Although the Shares are not the exact equivalent of an investment in gold, they provide investors with an alternative that allows a level of participation in the gold market through the securities market.

For short-term traders looking for leverage can use miners to play gold indirectly via funds like the Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bull 3X ETF (NYSEArca: NUGT), VanEck Vectors Gold Miners (NYSEArca: GDX)and the Direxion Daily Jr Gold Miners Bull 3X ETF (NYSEArca: JNUG).

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