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Gold shares surged Tuesday, with the top mining ETF (NYSEARCA:GDX) jumping 1.3%, following gold futures that settled at another all-time record high despite gains in the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields, with the likelihood of higher for longer U.S. interest rates.
The dollar rose after Monday's data that showed U.S. manufacturing rose for the first time in March in a year and a half.
Analysts noted some safe-haven demand flowing into gold related to yesterday's strike by Israel on an Iranian diplomatic building in Syria that killed a senior Iranian general, stoking fears of a widening conflict in the Middle East.
Saxo Bank's Ole Hansen also said an underlying bid from retail and central banks was joined by momentum-following speculators who have extended their already elevated longs following gold's break above $2,200/oz.
Front-month COMEX gold (XAUUSD:CUR) for April delivery finished +1.1% to $2,261.00/oz, a new record high and sixth straight daily increase, while front-month April COMEX silver (XAGUSD:CUR) ended +3.4% to $25.804/oz, its best settlement value since May 4 last year.
ETFs: (NYSEARCA:GLD), (GDX), (GDXJ), (IAU), (NUGT), (PHYS), (GLDM), (AAAU), (SGOL), (BAR), (OUNZ), (SLV), (PSLV), (SLVP), (SIVR), (SIL), (SILJ)
Among mining stocks posting intraday 52-week highs: Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM), Eldorado Gold (EGO), Equinox Gold (EQX), Harmony Gold (HMY), Hudbay Minerals (HBM), Iamgold (IAG), McEwen Mining (MUX)
"While investor positioning was showing growing signs of exhaustion given the modest reductions through late-March, fresh pops higher in both gold and silver prices in the last few trading sessions has likely revitalized investor interest in the sector to start the new quarter," JPM Global Commodities Research writes.
Also, Mexico state oil company Pemex has requested its trading unit to cancel up to 436K bbl/day of crude exports this month as the company gets ready to begin processing domestic oil at the new Olmeca refinery, Reuters reported.