Wall Street was downbeat last week amid geopolitical uncertainty. The S&P 500 lost 0.4%, the Dow Jones retreated 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.1%. U.S. President Donald Trump threatened a new wave of protectionist measures against European allies.
The tension centered on the “Greenland row,” with the U.S. administration threatening across-the-board duties of 10% to 25% on eight European nations, while some reports flagged potential tariffs of up to 200% on French exports (read: European ETFs in Spotlight Following Trump's Tariff Retreat at Davos).
Gold bullion ETF SPDR Gold Trust GLD surged 8.4% last week on increased safe-haven demand for the yellow metal. Against this backdrop, we highlight the winning exchange-traded funds (ETFs) of the week.
ETFs in Focus
Natural Gas
United States Natural Gas Fund LP UNG – Up 35.2%
U.S. natural gas futures skyrocketed amid severe winter weather. Futures surged as a historic winter storm tore across the United States, choking supply and boosting heating demand. The severe weather shut down almost 10% of U.S. gas output, as mentioned by Trading Economics.
Platinum
GraniteShares Platinum Trust PLTM – Up 20.8%
Platinum futures extended a record rally as strong investment demand and a tight physical market pushed prices higher. Expectations of lower U.S. interest rates, dollar weakness, and ongoing geopolitical and trade tensions have further supported demand for the precious metal.
Silver
Sprott Silver Miners & Physical Silver ETF SLVR – Up 17.0%
Silver prices surged as strong safe-haven and investment demand met prolonged tightness in the physical market, boosting retail buying in China and India. Heightened geopolitical risks, along with expectations of U.S. rate cuts under a potentially more dovish Fed, have further fueled inflows into the metal.
Gold Miners
Global X Gold Explorers ETF GOEX – Up 14.1%
The same safe-haven fundamentals worked for gold prices too. Gold extended its record rally last week. Since mining stocks often act as leveraged plays on the underlying metal, gold mining ETF GOEX rose sharply.
Palladium
abrdn Physical Palladium Shares ETF PALL – Up 13.3%
Palladium futures climbed to the highest level in over three years (per Trading Economics), as supply concerns intensified amid geopolitical risks and fears of disruptions to North American metal flows tied to potential Canada–China trade tensions. Strong investment inflows and increased trading activity in China have helped palladium gain solidly, despite softer automotive demand, as mentioned by Trading Economics.
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SPDR Gold Shares (GLD): ETF Research Reports abrdn Physical Palladium Shares ETF (PALL): ETF Research Reports Global X Gold Explorers ETF (GOEX): ETF Research Reports United States Natural Gas ETF (UNG): ETF Research Reports Sprott Silver Miners & Physical Silver ETF (SLVR): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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