Bond ETF flows surge in hunt for yield: 'Market sniffing out something here,' says BlackRock exec

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Amid recent bouts of stock volatility and a new Fed chair coming into a complex inflation environment, the action in bond ETFs is sending an important signal to the market. "Flows tell the story," Steve Laipply, global co-head of iShares fixed-income ETFs at BlackRock, told CNBC's Dominic Chu this week. And that is a story of rising investor interest in yield across the fixed-income market. "In the U.S., bond ETF flows are up a shocking 60% relative to last year," Laipply said. Laipply said a significant share of the flows are going into U.S. treasuries, but there also has been a significant move by investors into multi-sector income ETFs. "The income story is very robust and enduring, because rates will continue to move around and 'real yields' are definitely an opportunity," he said, a reference to bond yields net the rate of inflation. "Real yields reflect a growth story," he said, led by the AI boom and the anticipated increase i...
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Gold hovers around $4,000, silver holds below $60 — has the shimmer worn off the precious metal rally?

Gold and silver prices are oscillating around key thresholds as hawkish central banks and inflation fears weigh on the metals and market watchers see little chance of a meaningful rebound in the near term. Spot gold was flat at around 5:50 a.m. ET on Thursday, trading at $3,990.17 an ounce after falling below the $4,000 mark in the previous session. The precious yellow metal briefly broke back above $4,000 on Thursday, before retreating again later in the morning. Front-month U.S. gold futures were marginally lower, settling at $4,006.60. Year-to-date, gold is now down by around 7.5%. Spot gold Silver prices are also coming under pressure. Spot silver was 0.1% higher at $57.49 an ounce on Thursday morning, rebounding from a loss seen earlier in the day. Silver futures for July delivery were down by 1.2% at $57.41. Spot silver has lost almost 20% of its value since the beginning of the year. Spot silver Precious metals rally stalls Both gold and silver enjoyed record-smashing rallies in 2025, surging 66% and 135% respectively over the course of the year. While the rally continued into early 2026, trade soon turned volatile. Silver futures suffered their biggest single-day blow since the 1980s at the end of January and gold's safe haven status has been called into question after the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran war in February. In a note on Wednesday, strategists at Macquarie said all eyes were now on the trajectory of inflation and whether central banks particularly the Federal Reserve will tighten policy to keep prices under control. "The apparent end to the conflict in the Middle East, combined with a more hawkish Fed, has caused prices to retreat as gold's safe haven appeal fades together with the prospect of higher interest rates and a stronger USD, with a Fed rate hike in Q4 now fully priced in," they said. Markets are currently pricing in a Fed rate hike by September, according to the CME's FedWatch tool. Both the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan raised interest rates this month in response to the Iran war energy shock. Macquarie's said that new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's first meeting had taken a "hawkish tone" and that, under his leadership, the central bank has "potential to derail or support prices" in the gold market. "Post the fallout from the Middle East, which we expect to weigh on global growth into Q3, the eventual upturn in global growth and monetary policy easing cycle should see gold prices trend lower as more investor money transitions out of precious metals," they said. "Investors have been taking profit and pivoting towards equities This creates space for investors to re-enter the precious space, thereby pushing prices back up, but it would likely require a major macro event to reignite interest." Macquarie is forecasting an average gold spot price of $4,641 per ounce for 2026, a 35% year-on-year gain, but it expects prices to fall 9.5% to $4,200 in 2027 and decline every year until 2030. It...

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