CommodityHQ.com provides weekly information about any material impact of a major economic, corporate and/or geopolitical event on the global commodities market. The report also analyzes the weekly change in prices of the major commodity futures and commodity-focused ETFs as a result of market changing events and trends. This report covers events and analysis for the week ranging Jan. 16 to Jan. 23.
- Agricultural commodities rose this week as managed money increased its long positions in 13 different agricultural commodities by 95,000 futures and options contracts.
- Natural gas fell again this week near a 2-week low on warmer weather expectations.
- Copper soared this week, nearing 18-month highs following Donald Trump’s election while the Chilean Copper Commission increased its price estimate on the metal for the year.
- Check out our previous week’s report to keep track of the commodity trends.
Weekly Market Wrap-up
Energy – Energy commodities traded mostly flat this week on news of a U.S. oil industry recovery, warmer weather expectations and reduced Chinese coal usage.
- Oil – Oil traded flat for the week, ending at $52.99 per barrel as further reports of a U.S. oil recovery threatened to overshadow the OPEC oil production cuts. If you want to know how to trade in crude oil, read our Crude Oil section.
- Natural Gas – Natural gas hovered near 2-week lows of $3.145 per million British thermal units as warmer weather predictions hurt heating fuel demand.
- Coal – Adding to the headwinds in coal, China continued to taper its coal usage in an effort to reduce pollution and cut back on its bloated steel-producing industry.
Metals – Precious metals traded mostly sideways this week while copper continued its meteoric rise as growth expectations for 2017 rose from 1.9% to 2.5%.
- Precious Metals – Gold ticked up slightly this week as the U.S. dollar fell and fears surrounding Trump’s policies continue to weigh heavily on investors’ minds.
- Other – Copper neared an 18-month high to $2.65, riding a surge caused by Trump’s election and his plans for infrastructure investments. Meanwhile, Chile raised its price estimates for copper in 2017 to $2.40 per pound from $2.20 per pound.
Grains – Hedge funds turned bullish on wheat this week as data showed 1.8 million acres of fewer-than-expected wheat sowings.
- Corn and Soybeans – A U.S. Department of Agriculture report this week revealed record corn and soybean production with prices rising on hopes of better foreign trade deals with the Trump administration.
Softs – Cotton prices rose to a 4-month high, touching 75.37 cents per pound before settling back down to 74.87 cents per pound. Cotton production ramped up again as farmers took advantage of the high prices.
If you want to know what commodity is right for you, check out our Commodity Investing Database.
Weekly Movement Across Commodity Futures
This week, we analyzed all commodities by weekly performance and listed the top three performers by weekly percentage gain. All commodities were taken into account and analyzed from a performance perspective only to find the top three.
| Commodity | Weekly Gain (%) | Contract Expiration | Contract Price (as of Jan16) | 52-Week Price Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Cotton | 3.85% | 03/17/17 | $74.92 | $54.54 - $77.97 |
| U.S. Coffee | 3.02% | 03/17/17 | $154.68 | $111.35 - $176 |
| U.S. Corn | 1.23% | 03/17/17 | $370.00 | $301 - $439.25 |
The top three winners for commodities this week were all agriculture, led by increased bullishness by institutional investors. Cotton hit a 4-month high while coffee and corn rounded out the top performers.
Weekly Commodity ETF Movers
For ETF investors, we tracked the top three biggest gainers and top three biggest losers for the past week. Not included are ETNs, which behave differently than ETFs, as well as leveraged ETFs which may not be suitable for some investors. Considering the limited data for the year, all ETFs were taken into consideration regardless of YTD gains.
Top Three ETF Winners This Week:
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($ million) | NAV (as of Jan. 16) | Return (Weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USAG | United States Agriculture Index Fund | Broad agricultural | $1.90 | $19.48 | 7.80% | 7.80% | 0.65% |
| PALL | ETFS Physical Palladium Shares ETF | Palladium | $178.23 | $75.53 | 4.89% | 15.83% | 0.60% |
| CORN | The Teucrium Corn Fund | Corn | $73.20 | $19.65 | 2.66% | 5.02% | 2.92% |
Agricultural ETFs topped this week’s list for best performance as cotton prices hit new highs while palladium made the list for the second week in a row on increased U.S. automotive manufacturing expectations.
Top Three ETF Losers This Week:
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($ million) | NAV (as of Jan 16) | Return (Weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNG | United States Natural Gas Fund | Natural gas | $532.93 | $8.05 | -5.41% | -13.81% | 0.60% |
| UNL | United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund | Natural gas | $16.44 | $10.82 | -3.99% | -7.44% | 0.75% |
| UGA | United States Gasoline Fund | Gasoline | $70.58 | $29.43 | -2.81% | -6.03% | 0.60% |
Natural gas and gasoline ETFs were the big losers for the week as warmer weather reduced demand for heating fuel. Meanwhile, stagnant oil prices was bad news for gasoline as well. The widely traded UNG natural gas fund is now down double digits for the year only three weeks in.
We provide this report on a weekly basis. Be sure to check our News section to remain updated on the latest happenings in the commodity space.
