Gold Surges On Inflation Worries, Precious Metal ETFs Pop

Investors on Wednesday jumped into gold and other precious metals, along with commodity-related ETFs, as markets continue to worry that the Fed will raise interest rates higher than initially anticipated on the back of the Labor Department’s January consumer price index.

The CPI, which measures what American consumers pay for everything from food to medical care, climbed at a seasonally adjusted rate of 0.5% last month. The consensus among economists called for a 0.4% gain. Excluding the more volatile food and energy categories, prices rose 0.3% versus a projected 0.2% climb.

What’s more, overall prices tracked by this basket of consumer goods rose 2.1% year-over-year, which also came in above expectations. Coupled with the recent rise in wages, investors have even more reason to fear that the Fed will raise interest rates in order to curb possible inflation.

The release of January’s CPI, ahead of the Fed’s upcoming March meeting, prompted shares of several prominent precious metal ETFs to climb on Wednesday along with the prices of gold, silver, platinum and copper.

Gold prices popped nearly1.50% to $1,350 per ounce as of mid-day trading. Silver and copper rose 1.34% and 1.91%, respectively, while platinum experienced the biggest gain, jumping 2.10%. Shares of Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:ABX) , which is often an industry bellwether, surged over 3.50%.

SPDR Gold Shares (V:GLD)

This gold-based ETF has an average volume of roughly 8 million and is traded throughout the world. Shares of GLD (NYSE:GLD) climbed over 1.50% to inch close to its 52-week high of $129.51 per share, with 3 million more shares trading hands on Wednesday.

PowerShares DB Gold ETF (HN:DGL)

This fund is a convenient way to invest in commodity futures. Shares of DGL surged 1.52% to touch $42.74 per share. This move comes as part of a five-day climb for the ETF that helped it rest just below its 52-week high.

iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV) SLV

This fund seeks to track and reflect the overall performance of silver prices. With an average volume of over 8.6 million, this is also a rather popular commodity-based ETF. Following today’s silver surge, shares of SLV popped over 1.60% to climb within 10% of its 52-week high.

ETFS Physical Platinum (NYSE:PPLT) PPLT

Shares of this ETF, which aims to reflect the performance of the price of platinum, popped over 2.3%. This moved helped PPLT jump within $5 of its 52-week high.

iPath Bloomberg Copper Subindex Total Return ETN JJC

This fund, in theory, reflects the returns that would be made via an unleveraged investment in copper futures. Shares of iPath Bloomberg Copper jumped over 2% on Wednesday to climb just below its 52-week high.

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