A whiff of inflation – although the rate of inflation remains “muted” according to Federal Chair Jerome Powell – and anticipation of lower interest rates has encouraged investors to speculate in the SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME).
The XME is a very pro-cyclical investment, as the fund is comprised of companies involved in steel, precious metals, diversified metals and mining, as well as aluminum and coal.
The fund focuses exclusively on U.S. companies. While some of these companies have foreign operations, an investor in XME is not exposed to companies headquartered