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Gold Mining ETFs Hovering Around a 52-Week High: Here's Why
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Gold mining exchange-traded funds (ETFs) — Global X Gold Explorers ETF (GOEX - Free Report) , Themes Gold Miners ETF (AUMI - Free Report) , Sprott Junior Gold Miners ETF (SGDJ - Free Report) and Vaneck Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ - Free Report) — hit a 52-week high on Sept. 2, 2025. The ETF GOEX surged 86.4%, AUMI skyrocketed 92%, SGDJ advanced 71.3% while GDXJ added 85% as of the same day.
And why not? After all, gold bullion ETF SPDR Gold Trust (GLD - Free Report) has locked in more than 32% gains so far this year (as of Sept. 2, 2025). As mining stocks often act as leveraged plays of the underlying metal, mining stocks and ETFs outperform the metal itself.
Let’s find out the reason behind the rally.
Higher Safe-Haven Demand
With continued trade tensions even after some deal-making, the safe-haven metal gold remained in a sweet spot this year. Most recently, U.S.-India trade tensions spiked, as India seems to be teaming up with Russia and China.
Since three of the BRIC nations have been shoring up their alliance, geopolitical tensions appear to be on the rise. This could be a reason for gold’s renewed strength in the past month. GLD is up 4.7% over the past month versus 1.4% gains in SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY - Free Report) .
Even though gold briefly cooled in mid-May amid momentary cooling in trade tensions, these risks continued to linger. Investors are finding it safer to fall back on gold and consider it a crucial part of their portfolio.
Strong Central Bank’s Gold Buying
According to the World Gold Council, central banks have purchased more than 1000 tons of gold annually over the past three years. A record 43% of central bankers also indicated that their own gold reserves would increase over the next 12 months, as quoted on the above-mentioned World Gold Council article. A Financial Express article explained that global central banks are now holding more gold than U.S. Treasuries.
A Weaker Dollar in the Cards?
The Fed will likely cut interest rates in September after Chair Jerome Powell hinted at a reduction in his highly anticipated Jackson Hole speech. There are 91.6% chances of a 25-bp rate cut in September, per the CME FedWatch Tool. A softer labor market has probably led the Fed to walk this path.
If the Fed starts easing policy (albeit at a moderate pace), which could be the case ahead, given President Trump’s inclination for a lower rate and still-contained inflation rate amid tariffs, the U.S. dollar may lose strength.
Since gold is priced in the greenback, any slump in the U.S. dollar tends to buoy gold prices. Invesco DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund (UUP - Free Report) is off 7.2% this year (as of Sept. 2, 2025) and has lost 0.04% over the past month.
Gold Mining: An Undervalued Industry?
Zacks Mining – Gold Industry trades with a forward P/E of 13.08X versus the S&P 500’s P/E of 19.77X. Projected EPS growth of the industry is 56.58% versus 7% expected for the S&P 500. Given these data points, we expect more rally for the gold mining stocks if gold’s prices stay steady.
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Gold Mining ETFs Hovering Around a 52-Week High: Here's Why
Gold mining exchange-traded funds (ETFs) — Global X Gold Explorers ETF (GOEX - Free Report) , Themes Gold Miners ETF (AUMI - Free Report) , Sprott Junior Gold Miners ETF (SGDJ - Free Report) and Vaneck Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ - Free Report) — hit a 52-week high on Sept. 2, 2025. The ETF GOEX surged 86.4%, AUMI skyrocketed 92%, SGDJ advanced 71.3% while GDXJ added 85% as of the same day.
And why not? After all, gold bullion ETF SPDR Gold Trust (GLD - Free Report) has locked in more than 32% gains so far this year (as of Sept. 2, 2025). As mining stocks often act as leveraged plays of the underlying metal, mining stocks and ETFs outperform the metal itself.
Let’s find out the reason behind the rally.
Higher Safe-Haven Demand
With continued trade tensions even after some deal-making, the safe-haven metal gold remained in a sweet spot this year. Most recently, U.S.-India trade tensions spiked, as India seems to be teaming up with Russia and China.
Since three of the BRIC nations have been shoring up their alliance, geopolitical tensions appear to be on the rise. This could be a reason for gold’s renewed strength in the past month. GLD is up 4.7% over the past month versus 1.4% gains in SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY - Free Report) .
Even though gold briefly cooled in mid-May amid momentary cooling in trade tensions, these risks continued to linger. Investors are finding it safer to fall back on gold and consider it a crucial part of their portfolio.
Strong Central Bank’s Gold Buying
According to the World Gold Council, central banks have purchased more than 1000 tons of gold annually over the past three years. A record 43% of central bankers also indicated that their own gold reserves would increase over the next 12 months, as quoted on the above-mentioned World Gold Council article. A Financial Express article explained that global central banks are now holding more gold than U.S. Treasuries.
A Weaker Dollar in the Cards?
The Fed will likely cut interest rates in September after Chair Jerome Powell hinted at a reduction in his highly anticipated Jackson Hole speech. There are 91.6% chances of a 25-bp rate cut in September, per the CME FedWatch Tool. A softer labor market has probably led the Fed to walk this path.
If the Fed starts easing policy (albeit at a moderate pace), which could be the case ahead, given President Trump’s inclination for a lower rate and still-contained inflation rate amid tariffs, the U.S. dollar may lose strength.
Since gold is priced in the greenback, any slump in the U.S. dollar tends to buoy gold prices. Invesco DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund (UUP - Free Report) is off 7.2% this year (as of Sept. 2, 2025) and has lost 0.04% over the past month.
Gold Mining: An Undervalued Industry?
Zacks Mining – Gold Industry trades with a forward P/E of 13.08X versus the S&P 500’s P/E of 19.77X. Projected EPS growth of the industry is 56.58% versus 7% expected for the S&P 500. Given these data points, we expect more rally for the gold mining stocks if gold’s prices stay steady.