ETF Topper: Gold Miners Sparkle

New York (Sept 24)  Gold's moves seemed muted given North Korea's latest threat to conduct the "biggest ever hydrogen bomb test in the Pacific."

The iShares Gold Trust (ticker: IAU) and the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) settled 0.46% higher, but the Sprott Junior Gold Miners ETF (SGDJ), which gained 1.8%, was among the best performing in ETF land. The VanEck Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ), which rose 1.6%, made the ranks too.

Gold prices will likely dip from current levels by the end of the year to around $1,250 per ounce, according to RBC Capital Markets' Christopher Louney. However, ETF Securities' Maxwell Gold thinks that risk events could continue to be supportive of the safe haven metal. In his most recently published note Gold wrote:

This environment, while likely to remain supportive for gold, has been met with the catalyst of event risk driven demand. This August was full of events traditionally benefitting metals including geopolitical tensions with North Korea, political uncertainty in Washington, and static monetary policy as evidenced by the dovish commentary from both Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi at the Jackson HoleEconomic Policy Symposium (pushing market expectations for another US rate hike in 2017 down to 33%). These event risks may continue

 to be the key driver for gold and silver in the short term as investors attempt to navigate risk-off headlines and heightened volatility.

BARRON'S