The coveted metal hit $1,350 an ounce in October in the futures market- that’s a record high, although adjusted for inflation it is still about 50% below the early 1980s peak. Often times, the funds offer a more easily tradable instrument that mirrors the price commodities fetch in the futures pits or in the physical markets. Even though commodity ETFs do shield you from some of the volatility of futures (primarily that margin call potentiality) they will still fluctuate with their underlying index or asset.