Gold slumps, GLD and miners take lumps
The record-breaking rise in gold stalled Tuesday, with prices tumbling.
The sudden downdraft hammered popular plays on the price such as the SPDR Gold Shares ETF, the largest gold ETF, which is poised for its biggest daily drop since April 2013 as of 11:52 a.m. ET.
Miners like Newmont Corp., Agnico Eagle, Wheaton Precious Metals, and Anglogold Ashanti are similarly getting whacked along with a host of speculative, high-beta momentum trades.
While there’s no clear reason for the slump, theories and contributing factors may include:
Social media chatter about gold — which coincided with a spike in options activity — cooling off considerably, according to data provided by SwaggyStocks. JPMorgan strategist Arun Jain notes that retail demand for commodity ETFs has reversed course: after routinely registering in the upper 90th percentiles much of last week, it’s in just the 2nd percentile relative to its one-year average as of 11:00 a.m. ET, with retail having pulled more than $50 million from these products.
Less safe haven demand now amid a seeming reduction in China-US tensions.
A seasonal drop in demand out of India — the world’s second-largest gold market after China — that typically follows Diwali.
Jitters about the fact that weekly CFTC positioning data on the futures market, one of the best sources of hard data on the gold market, continues to be unavailable as a result of the US government shutdown.
But even after today’s slump, gold prices, as measured by New York futures prices, are up about 60% in 2025.
While there’s no clear reason for the slump, theories and contributing factors may include:
Social media chatter about gold — which coincided with a spike in options activity — cooling off considerably, according to data provided by SwaggyStocks. JPMorgan strategist Arun Jain notes that retail demand for commodity ETFs has reversed course: after routinely registering in the upper 90th percentiles much of last week, it’s in just the 2nd percentile relative to its one-year average as of 11:00 a.m. ET, with retail having pulled more than $50 million from these products.
Less safe haven demand now amid a seeming reduction in China-US tensions.
A seasonal drop in demand out of India — the world’s second-largest gold market after China — that typically follows Diwali.
Jitters about the fact that weekly CFTC positioning data on the futures market, one of the best sources of hard data on the gold market, continues to be unavailable as a result of the US government shutdown.
But even after today’s slump, gold prices, as measured by New York futures prices, are up about 60% in 2025.
