Gold Miners Screened ETF Report | August 2026

Gold Miners Screened ETF – Key Takeaways

Gold Prices Hover Near Two-Month High – Gold sits around $4,400 an ounce, near a two-month high driven by strong Chinese institutional demand, central bank purchases, and the heightened geopolitical uncertainty being created by the ongoing US-Iran conflict.  Stalled progress on a resolution to the conflict has elevated energy costs and inflation concerns, elevated gold as a safe-haven asset.  The People’s Bank of China added approximately 20 tons to its reserve in July, marking its largest monthly increase since late 2023. Here is a summary of the key factors moving gold prices higher:[1]

  • Weak U.S. Jobs Data: Softer-than-expected nonfarm payrolls and downward revisions signalled a cooling labour market, prompting investors to seek out safety.
  • Macroeconomic Shift: Declining Treasury yields and a softer U.S. dollar lowered the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold bullion.
  • Inflation and Fed Credibility: Market anxiety over future monetary policy decisions is boosting safe-haven demand.
  • Broader Precious Metals Rally: Strong upward momentum has spilled over into other precious metals such as silver, platinum, and palladium. Copper also remains near the highs.
  • The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is expanding its gold storage in Hong Kong to support the city’s ambition to become a major international bullion-trading hub. This shift accelerates a broader trend of moving sovereign gold reserves back to the region from London and coincides with a 21-month buying streak that has added 20 tons in July 2026 alone, the most buying since late 2023.

Gold Mining Stocks Rally On Weak Economic Report – Gold mining stocks are seeing a strong rally as gold prices climb.  The rally highlights the miner’s leverage to higher gold prices, flowing into earnings and share price expectations. Junior miners outpaced their larger peers, a pattern often seen with sharp price increases given that smaller and high-cost producers have greater operational leverage to rising prices. Both gold miners and junior gold miners saw gains in excess of 20%.  The recent weak US jobs report helped assuage investor fears of an interest rate hike.[2]

Hybrid Approach in Current Environment – Physical screed gold shares provide direct exposure to gold bullion, while screened gold mining stocks offer a leveraged play on gold prices.  Investors looking for safe-haven gold exposure often have to choose between investing in the commodity directly or investing in the companies that extract it. While one approach tracks the price of physical bullion, the other provides exposure to the operational leverage and equity risks of mining businesses. In the current environment, gold is serving as an inflation hedge, but the possibility of rising rates favours gold miners who can make decisions to boost returns to shareholders such as share repurchases and dividend payments.  A hybrid approach in this period of uncertainty related to the war, energy costs, inflation, and the direction of interest rates, makes a lot of sense.

Constituent News

Barrick Gold and Newmont Mining reached an agreement that may clear a path for Barrick to IPO its North American gold assets to unlock their value. While the agreement resolves opposition from Newmont, with which Barrick has a Nevada Gold Mines joint venture, some major Barrick shareholders disapprove of the IPO plan.  But the two companies reacted differently to the news, with Barrick declining and Newmont rallying.

Agnico Eagle Mines shares have been on a recent run, producing a cumulative gain of over 25%. Second quarter results showed slightly lower YOY gold production, but the company saw a sharp increase in net income and earnings, while guiding output to the lower end of its previous range.  The key near term catalyst for shares is how effectively it manages inflation and mine plan changes like the Barnat redesign while protecting margins. The latest results, with higher earnings but production guided to the low end of 2026 targets, do not fundamentally alter that near term thesis.

Company News – Earnings analysis

ESGO August

Past performance is not indicative of future performance and when you invest in ETFs your capital is at risk

Last rebalance (18.06.2026)

ESGO August2

Macro Outlook – Why is gold down YTD?

After peaking at over $5,400 in January, gold prices pulled back, slumping to lows near $4,000/oz in late July and July.  But gold prices have experienced a rebound in August, having its best month in seven months, climbing back to the mid $4,500 range. This boost in price has been driven by increased central bank buying, especially from China, and safe-haven asset demand.  The inflation outlook has been clouded by the US-Iran conflict, leading to higher energy and input costs.  Recent weaker economic data has soothed investor fears of an interest rate hike which is bad for gold as a non-yield paying asset.  Given all the uncertainty with inflation, rates, and geopolitical risk, a hybrid approach that owns both screened physical gold and gold equities makes a lot of sense.[3]

Gold Miners Screened ETF Performance
As of 31.08.2026

ESGO (Fund)VGLD30EN (Index)
1M32.88%33.02%
3M9.97%10.17%
6M-14.37%-12.51%
YTD15.48%18.20%
12M52.69%56.81%
3Y224.13%238.13%
Since Inception (02/07/2021)175.69%191.41%

Please note that all performance figures are showing net data. Source: Bloomberg / HANetf. Data as of 31.08.2026

Past performance for the index is in USD. Past performance is not an indicator for future results and should not be the sole factor of consideration when selecting a product. Investors should read the prospectus of the Issuer (“Prospectus”) before investing and should refer to the section of the Prospectus entitled ‘Risk Factors’ for further details of risks associated with an investment in this product. When you invest in ETFs and ETCs, your capital is at risk.

[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/10/gold-just-had-its-best-week-in-7-months-heres-why-mike-khouw-is-buying-more.html

[2] https://www.mining.com/?s=gold+miners

[3] Source: VettaFi

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