GDX vs USAU: Correlation
How closely do VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) and U.S. Gold Corp. (USAU) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.67, which is strong.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are GDX and USAU?
Over the past 3 years, GDX and USAU moved with a correlation of 0.67, which is strong. Recent behaviour matches the longer record: 0.73 over 1 year against 0.67 over 3. Over 5 years the correlation is 0.60, and the annualized covariance of weekly returns is 1892.6 %².
Within GDX's tracked universe of 78 assets, USAU comes in at #48 by 3-year correlation. Their recent paths diverged sharply: over the last 12 months GDX outperformed by 46.3 percentage points (+69.9% for GDX against +23.6% for USAU). Note the risk asymmetry: USAU runs 1.7 times the annualized volatility of the other leg, so equal-weighting the two is not an equal-risk position.
How is this computed?
Pearson correlation on weekly returns: ρ(A,B) = cov(rA, rB) / (σA · σB), over windows of 52, 156 and 260 weeks. Covariance is annualized (×52) and expressed in %². Full definitions on the methodology page.
GDX vs USAU: side by side
| GDX (VanEck Gold Miners ETF) | USAU (U.S. Gold Corp.) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +69.9% | +23.6% |
| 5-year return | +245.5% | +73.0% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 40.9% | 69.5% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.88 | 1.73 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -38.9% | -44.0% |
| Market cap | – | $0.3B |
| P/E (trailing) | – | – |
| Dividend yield | – | 0.00% |
| Sector / category | ETF · Commodities | US Listed |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | GDX | USAU |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -9.0% | -46.5% |
| 2023 | +10.0% | -11.5% |
| 2024 | +10.6% | +44.2% |
| 2025 | +154.8% | +216.6% |
| 2026 | +20.9% | -15.0% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are GDX and USAU good diversifiers for each other?
Somewhat, no more. With 0.67 correlation, most large moves hit both names, and the diversification benefit stays modest.
FAQ
What is the correlation between GDX and USAU?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.67 over 3 years, with 0.73 over the last year and 0.60 over 5 years.
Is USAU a good diversifier for GDX?
Somewhat, no more. With 0.67 correlation, most large moves hit both names, and the diversification benefit stays modest.
What does a correlation of 0.67 mean?
Correlation ranges from −1 to +1. Values near +1 mean two assets move together, near 0 that they move independently, and negative values that they tend to move in opposite directions. It measures co-movement, not performance.
Use this data
$ curl https://www.pairbook.io/api/v1/pairs/gdx-vs-usau.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/gdx-vs-usau/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: GDX correlations · USAU correlations
