Markets were tested this week as the Nasdaq suffered several punishing trading sessions. Meanwhile, commodities continued to hold their lead over equities, mostly thanks to coffee futures, which have surged this year. Gold continues to battle with the $1,300/oz. mark and lost its grip on Wednesday. Below, we outline the performance of the commodity industry this past week, helping our readers pick out the leaders and laggards in each sector [for more commodity news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter]:
Commodities This Week
Below, we break down the commodity world by sector and outline their performances using ETFs that track each asset:
Energy
WTI was the only commodity in the energy category that managed to notch a positive 5-day return, as coal and natural gas took big hits this week:
Precious Metals
2014 has not been kind to precious metals and this week was no different, as all four suffered pullbacks:
Ags
Corn separated from the pack this week, jumping more than 3% while its peers all saw negative stretches:
Industrial Metals
Nickel has been quietly surging forward, jumping nearly 10% in the last week alone:
Major Assets YTD
While equities continue to jockey for position, commodities have taken the lead, something they have not been able to say for the past few years:
WTI vs. Brent
The Brent/WTI spread held steady this week, though WTI got hit a bit harder in more recent sessions, widening that gap:
Natural Gas Inventories
Though inventories are still well below their averages, an unexpected jump in storage levels sent natural gas into the gutters during Thursday’s trading session:
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Disclosure: No positions at time of writing.
