Gold stocks have lagged gold and silver prices so far this year By Investing.com

Investing.com — Gold prices outperformed silver in the third quarter of 2024, however gold stocks have lagged both metals year to date, according to analysts at Bank of America.

In Q3 2024, gold prices rose 14%, reaching an all-time high of $2,672 per ounce on September 26. In contrast, silver prices rose 8%, although they remain 1.7% below their 2024 peak of $32 an ounce, which was reached in late May.

BofA attributes silver’s underperformance to weaker industrial demand. Gold’s strong quarter was said to have been fueled by central bank purchases and consumer purchases in Asia, along with a shift in global gold ETF flows, which shifted from selling to buying as the Federal Reserve of the US made the first interest rate cut in years.

Despite the positive performance of metals, BofA says gold stocks underperformed. Year to date (YTD), gold has gained 29% and silver 33%.

However, the bank notes that the S&P/TSX Global Gold Equity Index is up just 32% and the Philadelphia Gold and Silver Equity Index (XAU) is up 29%, both down 3% from their month-end peaks September.

The best performing gold stocks include IAMGOLD (NYSE: ), which is up 109%, New Gold (NYSE: ) (+103%), Kinross Gold (NYSE: ) (+56%), Agnico Eagle (NYSE: ) Mines (+49%) and Alamos Gold (NYSE: ) (+48%), BofA said. In contrast, the worst performers include SSR Mining (NASDAQ: ) (-45%), B2Gold (NYSE:) (+1%), Endeavor Mining (+7%), Barrick Gold (NYSE:) (+12%) and Franco-Nevada (+13%).

Mid-cap gold stocks gained momentum in Q3 2024, with the S&P/TSX Global Gold Equity Index and XAU both up 18%. Meanwhile, BofA said New Gold led with a 52% gain, followed by IAMGOLD (+41%) and SSR Mining (+32%). Underperformers included Franco-Nevada (+6%) and Triple Flag Precious Metals (+6%).

Overall, while precious metals have rallied, gold stocks have struggled to keep up, particularly early in the year.