By Chris Dieterich
NEW YORK--Investors in the market's largest gold exchange-traded
fund slowed their exodus out of the precious metal on Monday even
as the metal dropped below $1,400 an ounce for the first time in
years.
Total assets of the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) shed $188 million on
Monday, according to State Street Global Advisors, the ETF's
sponsor. The asset declines coincided with record trading volume
for the SPDR Gold fund, and compares with an outflow of $1.2
billion on Friday.
The sharp decline in gold prices has spawned a massive flow out
of ETFs tied to the physical precious metal. Created in 2004, the
SPDR gold trust is among the largest and most-actively traded ETFs
on the market.
So far this year, the $57 billion GLD has shed more than $15
billion in assets, a full 28% lower than where the fund started the
year. The SPDR Gold Trust dropped 13% in value over the course of
Friday and Monday, dropping to its lowest levels since 2011. On
Tuesday, the ETF rose 1.6% to $133.41.
Write to Chris Dieterich at
christopher.dieterich@dowjones.com.