Silver and gold ETFs rally up to 6% on Iran-US de-escalation hopes. What should investors do?

Silver and gold ETFs rose up to 6% on Wednesday as a weaker dollar and easing geopolitical concerns lifted sentiment, with gold inching higher while silver slipped slightly amid expectations that the Iran–US-Israel conflict may de-escalate after unsettling global markets and driving a surge in oil prices.

ICICI Prudential Silver ETF jumped the most of around 6% to hit day’s high of Rs 238.13 compared to previous closing of Rs 225.26. Nippon India Silver ETF, SBI Silver ETF, HDFC Silver ETF and Kotak Silver ETF gained 5% each.

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Nippon India ETF Gold BEeS and ICICI Prudential Gold ETF jumped 4% each followed by Kotak Gold ETF, SBI Gold ETF, and HDFC Gold ETF which went up 3% each on Wednesday.

Gold steadied near $4,500–$4,650 while silver rebounded sharply to $70–$73 amid easing geopolitical tensions and month-end flows and for long-term investors, this consolidation after recent corrections offers an attractive entry point, supported by persistent safe-haven demand and inflation-hedging fundamentals, Anup Bhaiya Founder Money Honey Wealth Services shared with ETMutualFunds.

Gold futures with June expiry on Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) gained around Rs 712 per 10 grams (nearly 0.5%) to trade at Rs 1,51,473 per 10 grams. The contracts with August expiry also gained around 0.5% in the morning trading hours.

Silver futures with May expiry meanwhile declined around Rs 1,300 per kilogram (over 0.5%) to trade at Rs 2,39,604 per kg. The future contracts with July expiry declined around 0.6%.

In the international market, spot gold rose nearly 1% to $4,700.41 per ounce, marking its highest level since March 20. US gold futures for April delivery meanwhile gained more than 1% to $4,729.80. Spot silver was steady at $75.11 per ounce.

Abhishek Bhilwaria, Bhilwaria MF, AMFI registered MFD shared with ETMutualFunds that the convergence of rising fuel prices and soaring gold rates creates a high-inflation environment where Mutual Funds and SIPs serve as critical tools for wealth preservation. As crude oil hikes drive up transportation and production costs, equity mutual funds in sectors like aviation and paints face margin pressure, often leading to short-term NAV volatility.

Maintaining a disciplined SIP (Systematic Investment Plan) during these periods is essential, as it allows investors to practice rupee-cost averaging, buying more units of equity or gold funds when prices dip, thereby smoothing out the impact of "imported inflation" and currency weakness on their long-term portfolios, Bhilwaria added.