Metals Under Pressure: Commodity ETF Activity Triples Amid Market Sell-off

Macro Summary

Total ETF market volume reached $219.8B today, representing approximately 83% of its 30-day average. The day’s narrative was dominated by a massive move to precious metals-linked instruments, evidenced by the Commodity asset class trading at 269% of its average volume despite falling 2.17% on the day. This activity was particularly concentrated in the “Commodity: Focused – Precious Metals” category, which saw volume surge to 284% of its typical levels, while the correlated “Equity: Thematic – Precious Metals” category also experienced heavy turnover (210% of ADV) as gold and silver miners faced significant selling pressure.

Asset Class Summary

Equity

Equity ETFs recorded $142.3B in total volume, trading at 77% of their 30-day average. Activity was highly concentrated in the Equity: Thematic – Precious Metals category (finishing the day down 5.80%), where silver and gold miners saw heavy turnover. This was largely driven by heavy turnover in SIL (closing -5.37%) and SLVP (closing -4.05%). Other notable pockets of activity included the Equity: Region – Asia-Pacific category, which was heavily impacted by high volume in VPL (closing +0.27%).

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Fixed Income

Fixed Income ETFs saw $23.1B in volume, trading at 86% of their 30-day average. Activity was prominently driven by the Fixed Income: Municipal – High Yield category (finishing the day up 0.02%) and the Fixed Income: Municipal – Intermediate category (finishing the day down 0.08%). Significant ticker-level activity was observed in PAAA (closing +0.03%) and CLOX (closing -0.16%), both of which saw volumes far exceeding their typical averages.

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Commodity

Commodity ETFs experienced an extraordinary trading day, with total volume of $23.7B representing 269% of the 30-day average. This surge was primarily concentrated in the Commodity: Focused – Precious Metals category (finishing the day down 6.60%), where investors engaged in massive turnover. Key tickers contributing to this volume include GLTR (closing -6.75%), PPLT (closing -12.11%), and SIVR (closing -7.67%).

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Digital Asset

Digital Asset ETFs traded $3.7B today, representing 55% of their typical daily volume. Turnover was relatively subdued across all primary categories, though the Digital Asset: Cryptocurrency – Multicoin category (finishing the day down 0.10%) showed the highest relative activity level within the asset class at 154% of its average.

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Currency

Currency ETFs traded $75.8M, essentially in line with their 30-day average of $77.0M (98% activity). Volume dynamics were highlighted by significant activity in FXY (closing -0.16%), which traded at 223% of its usual volume, and FXF (closing -0.07%), which also saw elevated activity.

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Alternatives

Alternative ETFs recorded $762.8M in volume, trading at 62% of their 30-day average. The turnover was largely characterized by volume within the Absolute Return and Volatility composites. The Alternative: Absolute Return – Managed Futures category (finishing the day down 1.19%) saw activity levels at 115% of ADV, though no individual tickers met the outlier reporting criteria.

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Non-Traditional

Non-Traditional ETFs saw $25.9B in volume, approximately 74% of their 30-day average. A major outlier in this asset class was the Non-Traditional: Leverage | Inverse – Commodity category (finishing the day down 0.80%), which traded at 243% of its average volume. This surge was primarily driven by heavy turnover in AGQ (closing -17.36%) and USOI (closing +1.47%).

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Multi-Asset

Multi-Asset ETFs traded $270.5M, a significant 160% of their 30-day average. Activity was primarily driven by the Asset Allocation: Specialty – Alternative Asset Sleeve category (finishing the day down 2.52%) and various Target Risk categories. Noteworthy ticker turnover included GDE (closing -4.52%) and AOK (closing -0.01%).

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

High-Activity Ticker Outliers