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Forget Chocolates & Diamonds, Gift 4 ETFs to Your Valentine

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A growing U.S. economy, solid labor market, decent cash balances both at the household and corporate levels should make Valentine’s Day merrier this year. About 53% of American adults are planning to celebrate this Valentine’s Day.

About 27% of the population who are not celebrating, still plan to observe the occasion. Total spending would be a total of $23.9 billion (up from $21.8 billion in 2021), per NRF (read: Stocks & ETFs to Fall for in the Valentines' Week).

January data from Google Search reveled that searches for “Valentine’s Day gifts for her” were up 300% year over year and searches for “best Valentine’s Day gifts for him” were up 200%.  Consumers are spending $175.41 on average this year, up about 6% from last year, per the report.

Exchanging chocolates, greeting cards, flowers, gifting precious metals have been common. So why not surprise your valentine with some financially-sensitive yet Valentine’s Day-themed ETFs and make the event more purposeful (especially with red-hot inflation burning a hole in the pocket!).

Let’s delve a little deeper.

iPath Bloomberg Cocoa Subindex Total Return ETN

Cocoa – the key ingredient of chocolates – is a hot bet from an investing point of view.iPath Bloomberg Cocoa Subindex Total Return ETN has gained about 10% this year (as of Feb 11, 2022) versus the 7.3% decline in the S&P 500.

Cocoa prices are hovering around a 10-year high. Weather concerns and higher demand led to this pricing gain. Dryness in the key producing areas of west Africa that produce the bulk of the world’s cocoa is the key reason for the price rally. And farmers are facing challenges from higher raw material costs like fertilizers, pesticides and diesel.

SPDR Gold Shares (GLD - Free Report)

Precious metals have long been an ideal Valentine’s Day gift. This year, the very gift category has received more prominence as rising rate worries and geopolitical tensions have rattled global markets and boosted a safe-haven rally lately.

People view precious metals as a sign of wealth. Investing in precious metals like gold ensures safety of your money by not being reliant on a bank or business performance. Although gold bullion ETF GLD put up a downbeat performance last year, it is up 1.7% this year, quite opposite to the lackluster performance of the stock market. Decent valuation and a safe status could drive gold in the coming days. GLD added 2.2% last week.

iShares Silver Trust (SLV - Free Report)

The iShares Silver Trust seeks to reflect the performance of the price of silver. Right before Valentine’s Day, the metal is in great momentum. While a volatile market has led to gains in the safe-haven metals like gold and silver, the white metal is often considered as an industrial metal too. About 50% of the metal’s total demand comes from industrial applications, while 30% comes from jewelry/silverware/coins and medal manufacturers.

The industrial demand for silver is rising, especially on the green energy front. Silver is used in solar power and electric vehicle applications. Hence, growth in the global solar PV industry, a likely rebound in global computer shipments, as well as new sources of demand for sensors used in IoT are providing a boost to silver demand. SLV is up 1.5% this year and 2.6% past week.

 GraniteShares Platinum Trust (PLTM - Free Report)

The GraniteShares Platinum Trust is designed to seek the performance of the price of platinum bullion less trust expenses. Apart from the jewelry purpose, platinum has also usage in the industrial sector. This metal is also used in the automobile industry in order to control emissions. Plus, upbeat sentiments about the global economic recovery have also been aiding the metal. PLTM is up 6.9% this year.


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