Two ETFs for precious-metal exposure

Article Excerpt

Most precious-metal stocks dropped, along with the market, in March 2020. They then quickly reversed that trend to soar for investors, in part because of gold’s appeal as a “safe harbour” in times of economic uncertainty. In fact, in August 2020, gold jumped to over $2,000 U.S. an ounce for the first time ever. Gold stocks also jumped. Gold prices then drifted down to about $1,800 as pandemic fears lessened. Shortly after, they spiked to over $1,991 in March 2022 as Russia invaded Ukraine. Gold dropped again, to as low as $1,622 in late 2022, before spiking to $2,051 in May 2023. Prices then dipped before rising to today’s price of $1,989. The most-recent price rise reflects market expectations that the two-year climb in interest rates is coming to an end. That lowers the appeal of the U.S. dollar and increases the appeal of gold as a store of value. Going forward, we think top-quality gold and silver stocks remain buys. That’s due…