Gold and silver miner ETFs were some of the worst-performing funds in the week ended Thursday, Nov. 15, as the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ) led the pack lower, with losses of 11.6 percent.
Indeed, eight out of the 10 worst-performing ETFs in the past five-day period were gold and silver miners funds. Miner stocks have often underperformed their underlying commodities, and the past week was clear evidence of that.
Gold prices slipped to one-week lows Thursday, as investors sold the precious metal amid growing uncertainty surrounding the U.S. economy. As a Hard Asset Investors report put it, many investors seemed to be selling gold in order to cover losses elsewhere.
“This is a very highly charged emotional period in investment history,” DLS Capital Management’s Managing Partner David Steinberg said of the price action. “That’s all I can say.”
GDXJ slid 11.6 percent in five days, while the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) bled 10.6 percent. GDX also saw hefty volume as it moved lower—more than 16 million shares of the fund traded hands, on average, every day.
A total of five Global X-sponsored miner ETFs were also found in that mix, with the Global X Gold Explorers ETF (GLDX) earning the distinction of being the week’s second worst-performing fund, tallying losses of 11.3 percent.
In all, the poor performance by the mining-stocks-focused strategies came in as the Dow Jones industrial average gave back 269 points, or 2.1 percent in the week.
On the flip side, a plethora of commodities strategies, including the ETFS Physical Palladium ETF (PALL), the Etracs CMCI Silver Total Return ETN (USV), as well as the United States Gasoline Fund (UGA), were among the week’s best-returning funds.
The Etracs CMCI Long Platinum Total Return ETN (PTM) was the best-performing fund in the past five days. The $39 million strategy rallied 5.64 percent.
Top 10 Weekly Performers, Excluding Leverage/Inverse Funds and '1,000 Shares Traded
| Ticker | Name | Weekly Performance | Weekly Volume | AUM ($, mm) |
| PTM | ETRACS CMCI Long Platinum Total Return ETN | 5.64% | 537,396 | 38.96 |
| NIB | iPath Dow Jones-UBS Cocoa Total Return ETN | 4.68% | 93,762 | 33.20 |
| CHOC | iPath Pure Beta Cocoa ETN | 4.50% | 24,687 | 5.59 |
| USV | ETRACS CMCI Silver Total Return ETN | 3.87% | 41,578 | 7.31 |
| NAGS | Teucrium Natural Gas | 3.37% | 5,308 | 5.10 |
| BAL | iPath Dow Jones-UBS Cotton Total Return ETN | 3.30% | 161,295 | 32.03 |
| UGA | United States Gasoline | 2.83% | 146,869 | 64.83 |
| EPOL | iShares MSCI Poland Investable Market | 2.81% | 974,191 | 132.91 |
| JJP | iPath Dow Jones-UBS Precious Metals Total Return ETN | 2.79% | 16,278 | 42.73 |
| PALL | ETFS Physical Palladium | 2.66% | 162,115 | 458.51 |
Bottom 10 Weekly Performers, Excluding Leverage/Inverse Funds and '1,000 Shares Traded
| Ticker | Name | Weekly Performance | Weekly Volume | AUM ($, mm) |
| GDXJ | Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners | -11.58% | 18,749,788 | 2,786.04 |
| GLDX | Global X Gold Explorers | -11.30% | 479,834 | 38.21 |
| GDX | Market Vectors Gold Miners | -10.58% | 84,145,395 | 9,309.29 |
| URA | Global X Uranium | -10.53% | 1,240,539 | 114.46 |
| RING | iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners | -10.35% | 64,666 | 37.05 |
| GGGG | Global X PURE Gold Miners | -10.18% | 64,627 | 4.23 |
| PSAU | PowerShares Global Gold and Precious Metals | -10.14% | 70,894 | 34.35 |
| TAN | Guggenheim Solar | -9.97% | 174,708 | 36.78 |
| SIL | Global X Silver Miners | -9.95% | 2,319,718 | 368.80 |
| JUNR | Global X Junior Miners ETF | -9.25% | 99,742 | 2.89 |
Disclaimer:All data as of 6 a.m. Eastern time the date the article is published. Data is believed to be accurate; however, transient market data is often subject to subsequent revision and correction by the exchanges.
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