How To Play Gold's Recent Surge Right Now: Don't Buy Gold?

Gold managed to break above a nine-year base and completed its best monthly gain since 2016. So what's the best way to play the surging commodity?

Wheaton Precious Idea: The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF GDX has outperformed the physical commodity but has since become "a little bit overbought," Piper Sandler senior technical research analyst Craig Johnson said on CNBC. If the ETF pulls back, it might be good to buy on the dip and investors may want to consider diversifying to other names.

One idea is Wheaton Precious Metals Corp WPM, Johnson said. The stock remains in an uptrend from March lows and showing no signs of breaking down. The relative strength has also been "nicely improving."

"As I go through our entire work that we got where we basically break down the entire marketplace into relative strength rankings, the gold, mining [and] silver groups are all making 26-week relative strength new highs and absolute new highs inside of our work," he said. "I think as a technician and investors, you can't really ignore that.

Related Link: Gold Just Hit An All-Time (Nominal) High—How To Play The Trade With ETFs

What About Copper? Gold has not proven to be a good hedge against inflation compared to stocks, Laffer Tengler Chief Investment Officer Nancy Tengler also said. Gold is more akin to a "safety play" but metals like copper is a "leading indicator on the economy."

"We think this is bullish for the economy and we also think it's bullish for stocks," she said.

But as the political calendar start to take over, Tengler said the commodity could see a correction followed up with a move to higher levels.