Gold Outflows Dominate Commodity Landscape as Investors Seek Value in Energy

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The U.S. commodity ETF market, comprised of 71 funds from 28 issuers with a total of $225.36 billion in assets under management, experienced a net outflow of $690 million for the week ending August 22, 2025. The week’s narrative was dominated by a significant retreat from precious metals, particularly gold, as investors took profits following a strong year-to-date run. In contrast, capital flowed into the energy sector, suggesting a potential search for value in underperforming assets, while niche categories like shipping freight posted standout performance gains.

Weekly Performance Recap: Niche Sectors Shine Amidst Broadly Positive Returns

Commodity ETFs delivered generally positive, albeit modest, returns this week, with notable strength in specialized sectors. Shipping freight funds led all categories with a remarkable surge. Multi-sector and energy funds also posted solid gains. The precious metals complex, despite its significant outflows, ended the week slightly in positive territory, while industrial metals remained largely flat. The weakest performance was seen in natural gas, which faced significant headwinds and weighed on the overall energy sector’s average.

Fund Highlights by Major Category (Week-to-Date):

  • Agriculture
    • Top Performer: DBA (Invesco DB Agriculture Fund): +2.13%
    • Worst Performer: CANE (Teucrium Sugar Fund): -0.18%
  • Energy
    • Top Performer: UGA (United States Gasoline Fund LP): +4.51%
    • Worst Performer: UNG (United States Natural Gas Fund LP): -7.21%
  • Industrial Metals
    • Top Performer: TMET (iShares Transition-Enabling Metals ETF): +0.91%
    • Worst Performer: CPER (United States Copper Index Fund): -0.53%
  • Precious Metals
    • Top Performer: DBP (Invesco DB Precious Metals Fund): +1.45%
    • Worst Performer: PALL (abrdn Physical Palladium Shares ETF): -0.19%
  • Multi-Sector/Broad Market
    • Top Performer: HARD (Simplify Commodities Strategy No K-1 ETF): +5.14%
    • Worst Performer: COM (Direxion Auspice Broad Commodity Strategy ETF): +1.09%

Weekly Flows Summary: Precious Metals Shed Assets

Fund flow dynamics were heavily skewed by the precious metals category, which commands over 91% of the total commodity ETF AUM. This sector saw outflows of $779 million, driving the entire complex into negative territory for the week. The withdrawals were concentrated in the largest gold ETFs. Meanwhile, investors showed renewed interest in the energy sector, which attracted $86 million in new assets, primarily directed towards natural gas and crude oil funds. Agriculture funds also saw modest inflows of $10 million, while industrial metals experienced minor outflows of $12 million.

Largest Individual ETF Flows (5-Day):

Inflows:

  1. SLV (iShares Silver Trust): +$264M
  2. UNG (United States Natural Gas Fund LP): +$74M
  3. IAUM (iShares Gold Trust Micro ETF of Benef Interest): +$30M

Outflows:

  1. GLD (SPDR Gold Shares): -$921M
  2. IAU (iShares Gold Trust): -$173M
  3. FTGC (First Trust Global Tactical Commodity Strategy Fund): -$49M

Issuer and Product Landscape

The commodity ETF market remains highly concentrated, with the top three issuers controlling nearly 92% of total assets. SPDR leads with a 53.38% market share, followed by iShares at 32.05%, and aberdeen at 5.80%. The week’s flow activity reflected the broader market trend, with iShares capturing the largest net inflows at +$129 million, while SPDR experienced the largest net outflows at -$934 million, driven almost entirely by its flagship gold fund. The product landscape saw minimal change, with one new fund launched in the past three months, the CTWO (COtwo Advisors Physical European Carbon Allowance Trust ETF).

 For a detailed breakdown of all data, including individual fund performance and flows, please refer to the full ETF Action weekly commodity reports.

Disclosures

This material is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. All investments, including ETFs, involve risk, including the possible loss of principal. Investors should consider their investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses carefully before investing.

This analysis was developed by the team at ETF Action. We leverage advanced AI tools to assist in the drafting and refinement of our content, based on our expert prompts, direction, and final review.

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