Gold Miners Screened ETF | February 2026

Gold Miners Screened ETF – Key Takeaways

Gold Bulls Hold Firm Amid Metals Sell-Off – Gold is regaining upward momentum after its recent sell-off at the end of January when gold spot prices fell as much as 12% intraday before landing down 8.5%. The sell-off was in response to Trump’s nomination of perceived policy “hawk” Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair. But another accelerant of the downturn may have been the COMEX commodity exchange raising its margin requirements on metal-trading positions, which left some speculative metal players short of cash, forcing them to liquidate positions. The move marked the steepest one-day decline for gold in 13 years. Despite the magnitude of the drop, gold is back up nearly 13% YTD (as of 6-Feb-26), reflecting underlying tailwinds relative to other precious metals. Central bank purchases, ETF inflows, and continued political and economic uncertainty continues to reinforce gold’s appeal as a safe-haven asset and long-term de-dollarisation hedge. Still, the market reaction did spook some gold investors.

Gold Pullback Has Not Dented Price Optimism – The recent pull-back in gold does not seem to have dented the price optimism at major firms. Major banks including HSBC, Bank of America, and Société Générale are all calling for gold to hit $5,000 an ounce in 2026. Just prior to the sell-off, Goldman Sachs reset its gold target for 2026 to $5,400 from $4,900. And post the decline, JP Morgan raised its gold forecast for 2026 from $5,055 per ounce to $6,300 and Deutsche Bank reiterated its $6,000 target. JP Morgan views gold as a good diversification play in an environment where real assets like commodities, real estate, and infrastructure are likely to outperform. And Deutsche Bank notes that China continues to be a prominent driver of precious metal investment flows as it moves away from the U.S. dollar.

Gold Miners a Good Post Recovery Play – Gold mining stocks provide leveraged upside to gold prices and may offer the best opportunity to participate post the recent price pull-back amid premium valuation levels. Gold mining companies are often considered a “leveraged play” on rising gold prices, benefiting from stable all-in sustaining costs (AISC) regardless of supply and demand. This “operating leverage” can result in profit margin expansion when gold prices rise. Elevated profit margins also translate into improved financial health, allowing miners to pay down debt, strengthen their balance sheets, or initiate or increase dividend payments to shareholders. The recent pullback appeared to be technical in nature as opposed to generated by a shift in sentiment toward gold. Strong fundamentals still underpin the segment. A prime example is Canadian-based gold mining firm Barrick Mining who handily topped earnings estimates after seeing profit growth of more than 126% in Q4 2025. The company also announced it intends to spin-out its North American gold assets into a new company called NewCo to maximise shareholder value.

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Read VettaFi’s Axel Belorde’s take on “Why Gold and Miners Remain a Strategic Allocation” in ETF Stream.

Macro Outlook – Outlook for Gold Remains Positive

The recent sharp selloff in gold and other precious metals, which saw prices dip below $5,000 an ounce following the nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair, is largely being viewed as a short-term technical correction rather than a harbinger for the end of the gold bull market rally. Many firms such as JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank raised or reiterated their price targets post the selloff, considering the dip as creating an attractive entry point for long-term investors. The core fundamentals behind gold’s bull market rally appear intact. Part of what has been driving gold is the weak U.S. dollar. Kevin Warsh is viewed as more hawkish with regard to interest rates based on his past history with the Fed during the financial crisis. Higher rates are bullish for the dollar. Another key driver of the selloff was that gold had become a crowded trade. Rising margin requirements triggered forced liquidations. Beyond the trade, the fundamental drivers and structural reasons behind gold’s rally remain intact. Geopolitical risk remains, especially if Iran flairs up in the Middle East, and the trend toward central bank purchases, need for diversification, and currency devaluation hedging have not changed.

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