London-based ETF Securities launches new gold ETF, its second U.S. product.

Just as gold is showing its strongest performance in a year, exchange-traded fund provider ETF Securities is set to launch its first bullion-backed gold fund. The ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares, backed by one-tenth of an ounce of Swiss-stored physical bullion per share, is set to begin trading on Wednesday through the NYSEArca exchange under the ticker SGOL.

ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares will go head-to-head in competition with existing bullion-backed ETFs such as SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEArca: GLD) and iShares COMEX Gold Trust (NYSEArca: IAU), both of which have hit 52-week highs this week on a surging gold price.

Gold ETF holdings have risen 42 percent, or 16 million ounces year-to-date. Bullion-backed ETFs hold 54.23 million ounces of gold, more than many central banks and around the levels of last year’s total production amount. (See Wall Street Journal story here.)

The

As reported first on Bullion Desk, London-based commodities specialist ETF Securities has amended its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in order to launch a physically-backed gold tracker product with custody in Switzerland.

Earlier this year, as reported on IndexUniverse.com, ETF Securities made filings to the SEC to launch ETFs tracking gold, silver, platinum and palladium, called the ETFS Gold, Silver, Platinum and Palladium Trusts, respectively. The platinum and palladium funds will be the first of their type available in the US market.

On 2 July the ETFS Gold Trust filed with the SEC to issue up to US$1 billion in ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares. The custodian will be JP Morgan Chase Bank NA, who will, in turn, select a sub-custodian in Zurich to hold the trust’s allocated gold.

The existing physically-backed gold trackers run by ETF Securities in Europe, Gold Bullion Securities (LSE: GBS.L) and

Gold firmed today, Thursday, as weakness in the dollar prompted interest in the precious metal as a currency hedge, with some physical demand after the previous session’s fall also supported prices.

Spot gold was bid at $912.50 an ounce at 1417 GMT, against $908.45 an ounce late in New York on Wednesday. U.S. gold futures for August delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $3.50 to $912.80 an ounce.

Gold sold off on Wednesday in line with other commodities, slipping to an eight-week low, after the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said it was considering a clampdown on excessive speculation in commodities.

Afshin Nabavi, head of trading at MKS Finance in Geneva, said the slip was met with some light physical buying in the Far East and Europe.

“We saw some small demand out of the Far East this morning,” he said. “But India and the Middle East is still very