Historical backfill: prepared on October 4, 2026; observations stop at the article date, using US stock and ETF closes and same-day yield observations.
GLD, the gold ETF, gained about 1.0% on August 17 while long-duration Treasury ETF TLT lost 0.8%. The ten-year real yield rose from 2.41% in the previous session to 2.44%; the nominal yield reached 4.72%, and the dollar index barely moved. Non-yielding gold usually faces a higher opportunity cost as real yields rise, yet it still advanced that day. The ETF close, yield observation and global physical-market quotations have not been established as aligned windows, so these prices do not separate their respective contributions.
SPY fell about 0.5% and QQQ 0.2%. Modest benchmark losses are insufficient to describe GLD’s gain as frightened money rushing in; the buyers and their motives remain unidentified. The real-yield increase was small, and one day’s mismatch also does not establish a change in gold’s demand structure.
Sources: Yahoo Finance GLD · Yahoo Finance TLT · Yahoo Finance SPY · Yahoo Finance QQQ · Yahoo Finance 美元指数 / Dollar Index · FRED DFII10 · FRED DGS10. Stock and ETF price changes compare consecutive Yahoo historical closing prices, which may include provider adjustments and are not treated as investors’ total returns; yields are observations for the stated day. FRED yields use the historical series available at preparation, not an archived real-time release snapshot. Price facts are separated from interpretation; causal explanations have not been established. Past performance does not indicate future results. Dollar-index figures use Yahoo Finance DX-Y.NYB daily records; the provider’s daily cutoff has not been reconstructed, so they are not treated as synchronous with regular stock and ETF closes. Personal research and opinion for information only, not investment advice.