On March 20, 2020, the spot price of gold closed at $1,487.60 an ounce, and it hasn’t been that low since. As of May 21, 2025, gold was trading at $3,317.22, representing a 123% gain off that 2020 low. In short, gold has been trending upward for quite some time, especially over the last 15 months.
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Why Is Gold Rising?
Extremely Limited Supply
The supply constraints on gold are pronounced and show no signs of easing. New gold discoveries and production from existing mines fall as gold is extracted. The result is a consistently tightening supply. Gold mining and processing have high operational costs and strict environmental regulations, making mine development a slow and costly process. In short, there is a seemingly permanent supply-demand imbalance that supports rising gold prices.
A Global Trade War
President Trump’s determination to shrink the U.S. trade deficit by imposing restrictive tariffs on imported goods has caused widespread geopolitical and economic uncertainty. As a result, investors are seeking sanctuary in gold as a safe haven and a hedge against the inflation that may result from disruptions in global supply chains. Ongoing wars in the Middle East and Europe are also contributing to this flight to safety.
Global Central Bank Buying
Central banks around the world have been aggressively increasing gold reserves since the first Trump administration in 2016. This is especially true of China’s central bank, which remains an economic and geopolitical rival of the U.S. The surge in central bank buying is driven by growing concerns over the strength of the U.S. dollar and fears that skyrocketing U.S. debt could — in a worst-case scenario — cause a dollar devaluation.
Inflation and a Weakening Dollar
Thanks to falling energy prices, we have not seen a marked increase in the U.S. inflation rate. That said, due to the tariffs, inflation fears are back on the table. This makes gold investments more attractive as a potential hedge against higher prices. At the same time, the U.S. dollar — as expressed by the U.S. Dollar Index — is down about 8% for the year. This is also promoting gold buying.
Market Volatility
The equity markets have struggled so far in 2025, and volatility in individual stocks and the major indexes has been high. This, and growing fears of a potential recession, are causing investors to seek out the relative security and stability of gold. Sustained buying, through ETFs or by direct purchases through gold dealers, increases demand without a corresponding increase in supply. That, of course, is a recipe for higher gold prices.
Gold ETFs
Most active investors know that exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, are one of the most convenient and cost-effective ways to invest. While this is true for almost all asset classes, it’s especially true for physical commodities and precious metals like gold.
Buying physical gold involves notoriously high fees and commissions, and investors also have to worry about liquidity, storage costs and insurance. For most retail investors, ETFs that invest in gold or gold-related securities are the best way to gain exposure to this important and potentially profitable asset.
If you’re interested in adding gold to your portfolio, check out the five high-quality ETFs on the following list. Each takes a different approach to gold investing, and there’s a good chance that one or more of them is the right ETF for you.
| ETF | Expense Ratio | Market Capitalization |
| SPDR Gold Shares (ticker: GLD) | 0.40% | $100.2 billion |
| iShares Gold Trust Micro (IAUM) | 0.09% | $2.6 billion |
| VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) | 0.51% | $15 billion |
| Direxion Daily Gold Miners Index Bull 2X Shares (NUGT) | 1.13% | $490 million |
| VanEck Merk Gold Trust (OUNZ) | 0.25% | $1.7 billion |
SPDR Gold Shares (GLD)
With over $100 billion in net assets — all of it invested in 99.99% pure gold bars — GLD is the largest physical-gold-backed ETF in the world. Most of the fund’s gold is securely held in London with custodians like HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBC) and London locations of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM).
GLD was the first gold-backed ETF to trade on U.S. markets, and it’s still the most prominent. The fund is popular with institutional and retail investors alike. It has an expense ratio of 0.4%. After subtracting those expenses, there should be virtually no tracking error compared to the performance of gold bullion.
GLD is one of the simplest, most straightforward ways for any investor to take advantage of the ongoing uptrend in gold.
iShares Gold Trust Micro (IAUM)
As mentioned above, buying and holding physical gold can be an expensive endeavor. Gold dealers charge high commissions and often tack on delivery fees. On top of these, there are storage fees and high insurance costs to deal with. All of those concerns go away when you buy IAUM.
IAUM is the lowest-cost physical gold ETF on the market. The fund has an expense ratio of just 0.09%, yet provides investors with all the benefits of indirect ownership of gold bullion. This is the gold ETF for cost-conscious investors looking to diversify into gold — especially those worried about the possible reemergence of sticky inflation.
IAUM has net assets of $2.6 billion. The fund is part of the iShares family of ETFs managed and administered by BlackRock Inc. (BLK), so investors can trust in its quality and be assured of its liquidity.
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VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX)
GDX is a $15 billion index ETF designed to replicate the performance of the NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index after the expense ratio of 0.51% has been subtracted. Launched in 2006, GDX is the oldest gold miners ETF trading on the U.S. markets.
Gold mining companies are very sensitive to the price of gold in both long- and short-term time horizons. In that sense, they offer investors an indirect exposure to the precious metal, but mining stocks are high-beta securities. This means that gold miners generally appreciate more than gold does on the upside and fall faster than the metal does on the downside. That feature of gold miners has, of course, been a great benefit during the current bull market in gold.
Owning GDX can be an excellent way of diversifying into gold while also diversifying into the metals and mining segment of the materials sector. The fund has a current yield of 0.82%.
Direxion Daily Gold Miners Index Bull 2X Shares (NUGT)
Aggressive investors looking for a trading vehicle related to gold may want to consider a position in the leveraged ETF, NUGT.
The objective of NUGT is to deliver roughly two times the performance of the NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index. That benchmark is made up of stocks, American depositary receipts (ADRs), and global depositary receipts of companies in the gold mining and processing industry. The ETF invests in a sophisticated set of derivative securities and swap agreements that, when bought in the right increments and terms, deliver twice the performance of the index.
The index does include some silver miners, but it’s gold-weighted, meaning much more emphasis is given to gold miners than silver miners. For practical purposes, NUGT is a leveraged, non-diversified gold miners fund.
The fund has consistently delivered about 200% of the return of its benchmark every trading day, but Direxion is careful to warn investors that there can be no assurance that the fund can or will meet its objective for any period of more than a single trading day. NUGT has net assets of $490 million and an expense ratio of 1.13%.
VanEck Merk Gold Trust (OUNZ)
The final ETF on today’s list, OUNZ, is included because of an innovative feature that makes this $1.7 billion fund one of the most interesting and versatile gold ETFs on the market.
Because OUNZ is backed by physical gold, investors can count on the fund mirroring the price of bullion minus its expense ratio of 0.25%. But, on top of providing indirect exposure to gold, OUNZ offers investors the opportunity to gain direct exposure as well. It does this by giving shareholders the option of exchanging some or all of their shares for actual gold bars or coins.
The conversion process is simple and inexpensive. It’s just a matter of simple paperwork, and delivery is free in the lower 48 states.
This special fund is the perfect choice for gold investors who want the convenience of an ETF but may want to take delivery of physical gold without the high commissions and delivery fees.
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5 Gold ETFs to Buy for 2025 originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 05/22/25: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
