NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Gold prices are up 3% in 2014, compared to a relatively flat S&P 500. TheStreet's Gregg Greenberg is with Jon Najarian, co-founder of OptionMonster.com, to discuss gold trading.
Najarian said that at the end of 2013, there was likely a lot of tax-loss selling of gold by investors looking to offset gains in other assets for the year.
For the long term, he said he is long the physical metal but prefers the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) and the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ) for short-term moves.
Najarian also said he holds physical gold as a safety play and doesn't trade it -- that task is reserved for the mining ETFs.
He added that the miners, especially the juniors, rally more than gold when the metal's price is rising but also sell off more than gold when its price declines.
At current levels, Najarian was comfortable owning the GDXJ, which is up roughly 11% year to date and has demonstrated solid price action.
In regard to silver, he said it also outperforms gold to the upside and downside. However, Najarian concluded that there has not been any unusual activity in the silver options to get him interested in the metal.
-- Written by Bret Kenwell in Petoskey, Mich.
