Gold Miners Go Parabolic: GDX Hits 2012 Highs, Newmont Soars 9%

As tensions in geopolitics rise and global markets seesaw, investors are flocking to gold — not in bullion form, but through ETFs that provide hassle-free access without storage woes.

As gold prices reach 18-month highs and uncertainty lingers thickly over U.S.-China trade relations, gold-backed ETFs are witnessing a record high demand.

The gold mania hasn’t been confined to the precious metal itself. Gold miners are also getting in on the action. The VanEck Gold Miners ETF GDX zoomed to its best level since 2012, surging 6.11% at last check Friday.

Largest holding in the fund, Newmont Corporation NEM is up more than 9% today. It jumped 25% this week alone, — its most optimistic weekly gain in 1998 — as investor demand expanded beyond bullion to the miners that dig it.

A number of other gold miner ETFs also showed impressive performances for the day:

iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners ETF RING took the lead with a 6.39% increase at mid-day.
Sprott Gold Miners ETF SGDM closely followed with a 5.87% increase.
Global X Gold Explorers ETF GOEX, which invests in exploration-oriented miners, went up 4.75%.
VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF GDXJ, which invests in smaller-cap gold miners, went up 5.13%.

In March alone, physically backed gold ETFs across the world collected $8.6 billion in inflows, the World Gold Council reported. That brought first-quarter inflows to $21 billion — the second-largest on record, behind only the frenzied second quarter of 2020 at the pandemic’s peak.

North American investors spearheaded the rush, contributing $12.9 billion—or about 76% of the quarter’s total. The action is part of a wider flight to safety as equity and bond markets totter in the face of renewed volatility.

The renewed gold rush follows just days after President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on 60 nations.

Some countries were granted a 90-day respite — the EU among them. But China was struck with a 125% tariff increase. Beijing’s retaliatory move with an 84% tariff renewed the threat of an all-out U.S.-China trade war. While markets faltered, gold rose 3.3% on Wednesday and another 1.6% on Thursday, rising to within $50 of its historic high. Spot gold last traded at $3,117.15 an ounce in London.

Even a stunning rebound in equities hasn’t dimmed the yellow metal’s sheen — the S&P 500 surged almost 10% on hopes for tariff relief. Yet, investors continue to hedge with gold as they prepare for more economic uncertainty and potential Federal Reserve intervention. A falling dollar and growing expectations for rate cuts only fuel the momentum.

The widespread surge in large-cap, junior, and exploration-centric gold mining ETFs highlights investor belief in depth within the precious metals sector. With volatility emerging as the new standard, physical gold and its equities-based counterparts are retaking their strategic safe-haven roles.

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