3 Commodity Investments To Profit From Population Growth
One of the most talked-about global trends in recent years has been the rapid growth in population. As emerging markets around the world enter periods of robust growth, their populations have also been on the rise. Though a growing worldwide population will certainly cause a number of issues, it will also present commodity investors with a fair amount of opportunities, as some hard assets represent a great way to profit from the current trend [for more commodity news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
Backwardation Report: Energy And Grains Face Falling Curves
Backwardation and contango are two phenomena that define the futures industry of the commodity world. Though the terms have come handcuffed with a negative connotation, those who understand how they work should not sweat their existence. Backwardation is the process by which near month futures are more expensive than those expiring further into the future, creating a downward sloping curve for future prices over time. Contango, simply, has the opposite impact [for more commodity news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
Shorter Trading Days For Grain And Soy Traders
On Tuesday, the CME Group announced that it will reduce grain and oilseed trading hours to 17.5 hours from 21 hours. This comes after last year’s largely controversial expansion, which got significant backlash from traders, brokers and agricultural companies alike. Managing Director of Agricultural Commodities and Alternative Investments at CME Group, Tim Andriesen stated that “Over the past several months, we have received significant customer feedback about the current CBOT grain trading hours. While there were varying opinions about what the modifications to hours should be, we believe these changes balance the needs of our diverse global customers based on their feedback” [for more commodity news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
How Ags Will React to Last Year’s Drought
The agricultural industry was hit hard by the most severe and extensive drought in at least 25 years in 2012, which had an impact on crops, livestock and food prices at all levels. While prices have already started to increase in the fourth quarter of 2012, the majority of the impact on retail food prices will likely be seen throughout 2013, according to a recent report by the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) analyzing the drought [for more agricultural news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
The Best Agriculture ETFs of 2012
It was a pretty hectic year for agricultural commodities as the summer months wreaked havoc on prices. After the United States endured the hottest 12-month span on record and an abysmal drought, a number of these staple commodities experienced big movements in price and trading volume alike. But now that 2012 is nearing its close, we look back at these funds throughout the course of the year to see which funds outperformed the rest [for more agriculture news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
Inside Citi’s 2013 Agriculture Outlook
As 2012 comes to a close, Wall Street begins to look ahead to the coming year and what trends will have the biggest impact on the commodity world. Financial behemoth Citigroup (C) recently came out with an all-encompassing forecast for the next two years for almost every major commodity. Of particular interest was their outlook on ags, as these commodities have been on a wild ride for 2012; one of the hottest summers on record and an extended drought sent futures all over the board [for more agricultural news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
The Surging Demographic Trends Behind Grain Investing
One of the driving forces behind commodity investing has been the exponential increase in the human population, as demand for these products continues to grow at an alarming rate. Among these commodities, grains are perhaps the most essential, as they are the staple of food products all over the world. Food commodities enjoy relatively inelastic demand; a demand that has been rapidly growing alongside the global population [for more grains news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
