Gold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) experienced a significant rally on Wednesday (May 13, 2026), with most funds increasing by approximately 7% as higher import duties made gold purchases more expensive. According to reports from The Hindu, this marked a break from over three months of sideways trading for gold ETFs. The renewed interest comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi advised citizens to reduce gold purchases to prevent foreign exchange depletion, with the government implementing higher import duties to discourage gold purchases.
Mirae Asset Gold ETF emerged as the top performer, increasing over 8% in a single day to reach ₹146 per unit, making it one of the most expensive ETFs among nearly 20 funds in the cohort. As reported by The Hindu, the costliest ETF was Choice Gold ETF, trading at ₹149.5 per dollar with an increase of about 6% on Wednesday. Gold ETFs had been a preferred investment option for more than a year as stock markets declined, with the renewed interest driven by the import duty announcement.
The latest trading session on Thursday (May 14, 2026) showed a different trend as gold rates declined on the MCX due to profit booking after posting a strong 6% gain in the previous session following the hike in import duties on precious metals. According to Mint, this profit booking activity reflects investors taking profits after the recent rally, though the underlying fundamentals of higher import duties remain in place. The current session's decline comes as markets focus on various global developments including Trump-Xi talks and US-Iran news flows.
Despite gold prices rallying over 60% in calendar year 2025, analysts had expected a slower phase as the rally was thought to have peaked. According to Anindya Banerjee, Head of Commodity and Currency Research at Kotak Securities, the structural view on gold and silver remains constructive. As reported by The Hindu, Banerjee expects international gold to move towards $6,000 per ounce over the next 12 to 18 months, with silver positioned as a meaningful beneficiary alongside it. The analyst cited global de-dollarisation themes, central bank buying, and currency-debasement hedging as multi-year drivers operating independently of domestic tax decisions.
