Weekly Recap | IAUM.US -4.62%, hot inflation lifts rate bets

The Week

IAUM.US fell 4.62% this week to close at $38.64, while the S&P 500 gained 2.51%. The ETF underperformed the benchmark by about 7.13 percentage points. Price action was front-loaded: the fund hit its weekly high of $41.33 on Monday, then drifted lower for three straight sessions before dropping below $39 on Thursday at a low of $38.375. Friday finished around flat. Weekly amplitude was 7.19%, and average daily volume of 42.0m shares ran about 70% above the 60-day median, showing heavy selling pressure on the way down.

Sector News

The dominant story for gold this week was hot US inflation data and a firmer rate-hike path. Treasury yields and the dollar rose, pushing spot gold below $4,000 and to a more-than-one-year low on Thursday. Gold futures and gold miners followed lower. SPDR Gold Trust holdings were roughly flat on the week: down 0.38 tonnes midweek and up 3.705 tonnes by Saturday. Remarks from Trump suggesting no need for an Iran deal also trimmed the geopolitical risk premium on bullion. As a micro ETF tracking gold, IAUM.US moved in line with the underlying metal.

The Week Ahead

The macro calendar is concentrated early next week. Monday brings the New York Fed manufacturing index (prior 25.5, consensus 18). Tuesday has import prices, retail sales, industrial production and the NAHB housing index. Retail sales are expected at 0.2% versus 0.8% prior; industrial production at 0.1% versus 0.7% prior. Softer data could ease pricing for Fed tightening and shift the dollar-yield-gold equation in the near term.

In Short

The week’s tension was between gold prices and rate expectations. Hot inflation kept upward pressure on the dollar and yields, dragging gold and this ETF lower. Yet gold staged a modest rebound into the weekend and SPDR holdings ticked back up, suggesting the market is not one-sided. The next test is whether retail sales and industrial data change rate pricing, and whether the $38-39 zone holds for the metal.

This article is generated by LongbridgeAI from market data, for information only and not investment advice.