Gold Slowly Losing Steam: GLD Technical Take

Posted on January 5, 2013 by

The last minute cliff-aversion deal in Washington D.C. set up major equity indexes for a truly impressive start to the new year. Gold, on the other hand, has kicked off 2013 with a sour string of losses, as growing risk appetites and recent comments from the Federal Reserve have taken their toll on the safe haven yellow metal. While the first few trading days are often said to be predictive of the entire year, we feel that gold prices may come under more pressure for reasons beyond historical coincidences [for more market news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].

Posted in Commodity ETF Analysis, Commodity ETFs, Commodity Trading Outlook, Gold, Trading | Tagged | Leave a comment

Why Palladium May Be This Year’s Gold

Posted on January 4, 2013 by

Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring elements with a high economic value. Gold and silver derive their value from this historical use as coinage, but others like palladium have the dual benefit of being rare and useful in commercial applications. Even better, many of these applications are projected to rapidly grow, resulting in higher demand [for more palladium news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].

Posted in Commodity ETF Analysis, Commodity ETFs, Palladium, Precious Metals | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Battle Metals vs. Miners: Gold Edition 2012

Posted on January 3, 2013 by

Gold investors were in for a wild ride this year, as several major economic events thrust the precious metal into some rather volatile swings. Between the announcement of QE3, the President’s reelection, and the fiscal cliff talks, gold’s performance was all over the board, though the metal managed to post solid but relatively lower gains on the year. As a result, two popular exchange-traded funds saw a lot of activity in 2012: State Street’s SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) and Van Eck’s Market Vectors TR Gold Miners ETF (GDX). A close look at the performances on a year-to-date basis shows just how vastly different these two approaches to the gold market can be [for more gold ETF news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter]:

Posted in Academic Research, Asset Allocation, Commodity ETF Analysis, Commodity ETFs, Commodity Producers, Gold, Precious Metals | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Winter Chill Returns, UNG Poised To Pop?

Posted on January 2, 2013 by

This past year has been dominated by inclement weather that has left UNG reeling; natural gas futures have been all across the board. Despite making an impressive 70% run during the summer, this commodity still managed to end the year with losses topping 20%. With this past year set to be one of the warmest (if not the warmest) in U.S. history, it should come as no surprise to see the commodity struggle, as the winter months are key for demand and consumption [for more natural gas news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].

Posted in Commodity ETF Analysis, Commodity ETFs, Commodity Futures, Commodity Producers, Energy, Natural Gas | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Best And Worst Energy ETFs Of 2012

Posted on December 24, 2012 by

The energy sector has been anything but stable this year, as commodities as a whole suffered at the hands of volatile trading. Crude oil prices surged all across the board while popular natural gas struggled to maintain a direction. With 2012 coming to a close, we take a look back on the year and outline the best and worst performing energy ETFs. Note that this list excludes leveraged and inverse products [for more energy ETF news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].

Posted in Actionable Ideas, Biofuels, Brent Oil, Commodity ETF Analysis, Commodity ETFs, Commodity Futures, Energy, Gasoline, Natural Gas, WTI | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Best And Worst Soft Commodity ETPs Of 2012

Posted on December 21, 2012 by

In the commodity world, active trading reigns supreme; many investors measure their holding period by minutes and hours rather than by weeks and months. Among the most popular items to trade, soft commodities have found a particular niche with those who can stomach their risk. Made up of cocoa, coffee, cotton and sugar, the soft commodities are among the most volatile on the market and, as such, have become a trader’s dream [for more soft commodity news subscribe to our free newsletter].

Posted in Agriculture, Asset Allocation, Cocoa, Coffee, Commodity ETF Analysis, Commodity ETFs, Cotton, Sugar | Leave a comment

Battle Metals vs. Miners: Silver Edition 2012

Posted on December 19, 2012 by

For the most part, silver has had a rather impressive yet volatile year. Often overshadowed by its golden competitor, this shiny metal has been able to gain some significant traction over the last four months to make up for its summer dip. And as such, two popular exchange-traded funds have rewarded those investors patient enough to ride out the swings: iShares’ Silver Trust (SLV) and Global X’s Silver Miner ETF (SIL). Though each fund takes a vastly different approach to the silver market, a close look at their performance on a year-to-date basis shows why these two picks are among investor’s top choices [for more silver ETF news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter]:

Posted in Commodity ETF Analysis, Commodity ETFs, Commodity Producers, Precious Metals, Silver | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

GLD vs. SLV: 2012 In Review

Posted on December 17, 2012 by

Precious metals investors have been on a wild ride this year, as economies pulled back and forth and a number of major events had these metals all over the board. This year saw the announcement of QE3, QE4 and the re-election of president Barack Obama; all of which had big implications for precious metals. But what many investors are concerned about is not necessarily how these commodities performed as a whole, but who outshined the rest. Below, we put the two most popular PMs, gold and silver, head-to-head to see who took the crown in 2012 [for more precious metals news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].

Posted in Asset Allocation, Commodity ETF Analysis, Commodity ETFs, Gold, Precious Metals, Silver | Tagged , | 3 Comments

The Best Agriculture ETFs of 2012

Posted on December 14, 2012 by

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].

Posted in Agriculture, Commodity ETF Analysis, Commodity ETFs, Soybeans, Wheat | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Six Months Later: USMI, SNDS, BNPC

Posted on December 13, 2012 by

The rapid development of the ETF industry has cracked the world of commodity investing wide open, allowing average investors to gain cheap and easy access to a previously hard-to-reach asset class. And while some choose to focus on a single commodity, many investors also look for more diversified exposure, or perhaps even an equity spin on the space. As the ETF industry continues to expand, investors are now able to pick and choose from hundreds of products [for more commodity ETF news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].

Posted in Brent Oil, Commodity ETF Analysis, Commodity ETFs, Energy, Industrial Metals, Precious Metals, WTI | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

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