Gold Miners Index Falls 6.6% in March to Lowest Since December
Key Facts
The NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index fell 6.6% on March 19, 2026, to its lowest level since December, according to data reported by Bloomberg. That put the index down about 1.9% year to date, after it had risen as much as 35% on March 2. Bloomberg attributed pressure on gold-mining stocks to reduced bets on interest-rate cuts as oil prices rose during the Iran war. The move puts producers’ shares at the mercy of factors beyond the metal’s performance alone, as their valuations are also tied to monetary-policy expectations and energy prices. These data do not establish the sector’s performance in October or the losses attributed to specific companies in the previous draft.
The index’s rally early in March was swift, with its year-to-date gains reaching 35% on March 2, before the subsequent selloff erased those gains and pushed it into negative territory by March 19. The index fell a sharp 6.6% in Thursday’s session, taking it to its lowest level since December. By the close, it was down about 1.9% since the start of 2026. Bloomberg’s report linked the decline to a shift in traders’ rate expectations, at a time when oil prices were rising because of the Iran war. The move highlights how pressure on mining stocks coincided with a repricing of the rate outlook and rising energy costs.
In September, New York gold futures fell 6.4% for the month, with the price declining from $4,441 an ounce at the end of August to $4,158 at the end of September, according to a Mining.com report carried by Republic of Mining. The report said silver fell 9% during the month, while copper and iron ore ended September at levels nearly matching those at the start of the month, and lithium lost more than a fifth of its value. The moves reflect divergent performance among commodities during the month, with gold and silver falling and lithium declining, while copper and iron ore were relatively stable. September’s figures provide separate context from the volatility in mining stocks in March and do not substantiate unverified claims about October.
The September report said the Federal Reserve raised interest rates on September 16, for the first time since 2023, as a global bond selloff pushed yields to their highest levels since 2008 and strengthened the dollar. In March, Bloomberg said rising oil prices during the Iran war coincided with traders scaling back their expectations for rate cuts. Together, these developments link rates, yields, the dollar and energy prices—factors cited in reports alongside moves in metal prices and mining stocks. As for investor appetite for the sector, assets under management in exchange-traded mining funds exceeded $87.4 billion on March 31, 2026, compared with $37 billion a year earlier, according to a Reuters report. Investor flows also shifted from an outflow of $2.52 billion in the first quarter of 2025 to an inflow of $8.24 billion in the first quarter of 2026, a difference of $10.8 billion.
Mining stocks’ sensitivity to metals moves was also evident in the Canadian market. On September 28, silver fell 4.5% to $61.88 an ounce, and gold dropped 3.2% to $4,181.87, according to a Reuters report; the report linked losses among Canadian mining companies to their shares’ sensitivity to metal-price moves. Earlier, the S&P/TSX fell 1% during the September 23 session, with materials and mining stocks under pressure as gold fell more than 1% and silver more than 3%. These moves offer two dated examples of weakness in metals coinciding with pressure on mining stocks, without establishing the performance of individual companies in October. By contrast, S&P Global forecast in June that capital spending by the top 30 mining companies would reach $121 billion in 2026, the highest level in a decade, as they strategically shift toward energy-transition minerals, particularly copper.