Gold, Silver and Oil ETFs Slide Before Peace-Deal Rebound

Precious-metal and crude-oil ETFs fell sharply last week as the Iran war kept inflation and interest-rate fears in focus, with silver and platinum funds leading the decline and gold ETFs shedding more than a billion dollars in net outflows. The move has begun to reverse since: a weekend peace agreement between the United States and Iran sent oil to a two-month low on Monday morning and lifted metals for a third straight session. For the week, precious-metal ETFs fell 5.04% on average and crude-oil funds 4.77%.

An Energy Shock and a Hawkish Turn

By Friday's close, the war that erupted in late February had left the Strait of Hormuz all but shut, choking roughly a fifth of global oil shipments and keeping crude elevated. Brent traded near $84.88 a barrel, down about 6% on the week but still more than 20% above its pre-conflict level. The energy squeeze fed straight through to prices. US producer prices rose 6.5% year over year in May, and the European Central Bank raised rates on Thursday for the first time since 2023 while lifting its inflation forecasts for 2026 and 2027. With markets pricing a Federal Reserve hike before year-end, a firmer dollar and higher Treasury yields added to the pressure on metals that pay no income.

Each metal felt it. Gold traded around $4,200 an ounce on Friday, heading for a second straight weekly loss. Silver sat near $67, on course for a fifth consecutive weekly decline. Platinum held around $1,760, its weakest since December 2025, though its fall was cushioned by a tight supply picture: the World Platinum Investment Council expects a fourth consecutive annual deficit in 2026 as ageing mines and sanctions constrain output in South Africa and Russia, while hybrid-vehicle demand and stricter emissions rules support consumption.

A Weekend Breakthrough

The picture shifted over the weekend. The United States and Iran reached a peace agreement set to be signed in Switzerland on 19 June, reportedly lifting blockades, easing sanctions, dismantling Tehran's nuclear programme and reopening the Strait of Hormuz by the end of the week. Crude oil plunged more than 5% on Monday to around $80 a barrel, a two-month low, as the prospect of resumed Gulf shipments eased the inflation threat that had weighed on the metals. Bullion climbed back above $4,300, silver advanced toward $71 and platinum rebounded above $1,780 from its recent six-month low. Attention now turns to the Federal Reserve, which holds its first meeting this week under new chair Kevin Warsh and is widely expected to keep rates unchanged. The Reserve Bank of Australia is also seen holding steady, while the Bank of Japan is likely to raise rates to support the yen.

ETF Performance

The 163 precious-metal ETFs tracked by Trackinsight fell 5.04% for the week to Friday and lost $1.10 billion in net outflows, leaving them 3.54% lower for the year, with combined assets of $168.6 billion. Gold, the largest segment at $151.6 billion across 82 funds, fell 4.93% and drove the outflows, shedding $1.18 billion for the week, though it stays in positive territory for the year on flows at $687.5 million. The three largest physical funds moved in lockstep, each down 4.49%: iShares Physical Gold ETC (IGLN), the biggest at $30.2 billion, drew $129.3 million in weekly outflows yet still leads the group with $2.31 billion of inflows for the year; AMUNDI Physical Gold ETC (GOLD) saw the heaviest weekly redemption at $300.5 million; and WisdomTree Physical Gold (PHAU) lost $30.3 million. ZKB Gold ETF (ZGLD) fell further, down 6.40%.

Silver and platinum fell harder but drew buyers on the dip. The 33 silver ETFs dropped 6.09% for the week yet took in $69.6 million, and the 20 platinum funds fell 6.73% with $9.1 million of inflows. At the fund level, Invesco Physical Silver ETC (SSLV) was the week's weakest, down 12.62% while still attracting $9.7 million, and WisdomTree Core Physical Silver (WSLV) fell 8.11% with $35.7 million of inflows. The two platinum funds, WisdomTree Physical Platinum (PHPT) and iShares Physical Platinum ETC (IPLT), each fell 8.61% and sit close to 15% lower for the year, the worst-performing corner of the precious-metals space in 2026.

Crude-oil ETFs, down 4.77% for the week, remain the standout of the year. The 33 funds are up 67.69% in 2026, having ridden the wartime spike since late February. WisdomTree Brent Crude Oil (BRNT) is up 72.51% year to date and BNP Paribas ICE Brent Oil ETC (BNQA) 76.90%, both ahead of the WTI-based WisdomTree WTI Crude Oil (CRUD) at 66.86%. With Monday's price slump, those returns could compress quickly if the ceasefire holds.

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