While stocks have been posting big numbers over the past few trading sessions, commodities have been struggling to find their ground. A slew of good data from the U.S. has given a fair amount of momentum to equities, but commodities have remained volatile, as many seem to have their gaze fixated on sky-high crude oil and subsequent gas prices, though crude tapered off to end the week. Orange juice and soybean futures took the lead this past week, as both contracts tacked on more than 5% to their underlying prices. Meanwhile, natural gas continued its slide, surrendering roughly 8% on the week while gold futures dipped by nearly 4%. In an effort to keep our readers up to date on the fast paced world of commodities, we outline three of the best stories from around the web this week [see also Why Warren Buffett Hates Gold].
What Caused Silver’s Take-down? at Beacon Equity Research:
Silver had been on a tear for 2012, as it was the best performing commodity until this past week. This precious metal, which has become an investor favorite, saw a fair amount of headwinds on Wednesday, along with its sister metal, gold. Many investors were confused and panicked by the sudden and steep drops both metals endured, especially because news had just dropped of a better-than-expected U.S. GDP report. This article, by Dominique de Kevelioc de Bailleul outlines why silver had such a rough week and provides opportunities for investors to make a play.
How To Profit From Surging Gasoline Prices at ETF Daily News:
Rising crude prices have been a concern for a number of investors and citizens alike for the past few months. With turmoil overseas in some of the most vital producing nations, we have watched crude jump from around $75/barrel late last year, to nearly $110/barrel as of late. All the while, gas prices have been climbing in the states (though foreign countries have been paying much higher prices for quite some time) much to the dismay of U.S. citizens. This article, by Patrick Vail, outlines why gas prices have been spiking and what investors can do to take advantage.
Gold Hits Resistance, Time To Worry? at CommodityHQ:
No matter what investors do, it seems that no one can escape gold. The past few years have seen the metal make a historic run, thrusting the metal into the limelight as one of the most popular commodities as well as speculative tools for where the economy is headed. But from a technical perspective, this commodity is at a cross-roads, as it has once again failed to break through a key resistance barrier. This article, by Stoyan Bojinov, gives and in-depth look at the technicals behind gold and why it may be time to worry about the metal’s future.
Disclosure: No positions at time of writing.
