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 weeks ranging Feb. 20 to Feb. 28.
- Rising U.S. oil production continued to offset OPEC production cuts, causing crude oil prices to trade flat for the week.
- Gold and silver rose on a weaker U.S. dollar and investor jitters regarding an upcoming Fed meeting.
- London sugar dropped as technically driven selling dragged prices lower this week.
- Be sure to check our previous week’s edition to follow the trend.
Weekly Market Wrap-up
Energy – Increasing U.S. oil production offset strict OPEC production adherence, capping gains. Meanwhile, natural gas prices fell once again because of the mild winter.
- Oil – Crude oil was trading at $53.91 per barrel on Monday following news that continued U.S. oil production was effectively offsetting the OPEC production cuts. Check out some of our key actionable ideas on investing in crude oil.
- Natural Gas – Persistently warm weather continued to plague natural gas, which was last trading at $2.68 per million British thermal units on Monday.
- Coal – U.N. sanctions against North Korean coal affected imports. According to analysts, this will actually boost prices as demand for Russian and Australian coal gains prominence.
Metals – The Escondida copper mine strike in Chile along with the strikes in Indonesia impacted prices, causing the 3-month copper prices on the LME to jump up to $5,934.50 a tonne.
- Precious Metals – Gold neared a three and a half month high at $1,253.40 per ounce on a weakened U.S. dollar and investor expectations surrounding President Trump’s policies and an upcoming Fed meeting. Silver meanwhile was up to $18.32 per ounce.
- Other – The possibility of continued Chinese aluminum production cuts helped lift aluminum prices to $75.99 per tonne.
Grains – Wheat prices dipped to $4.46 a bushel as hedge funds pulled back trading activity in agricultural commodities.
- Corn and Soybeans – Corn supply glut eased as hedge funds turned more bullish on the commodity this week.
Softs – Technically driven selling activity dragged sugar prices lower to $19.29 cents a pound.
If you are wondering which commodity might be right for you, check out our Commodity Investing Database.
Weekly Movement Across Commodity Futures
For 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.
You can use ETFdb.com’s Screener to see a complete list of commodity ETFs.
| Commodity | Weekly Gain (%) | Contract Expiration | Contract Price (as of Feb. 28) | 52-Week Price Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 4.21% | 04/17/17 | $2.67 | $1.611 - $3.994 |
| Platinum | 2.74% | 04/17/17 | $1,031.75 | $889.55 - $1,199.45 |
| Silver | 1.64% | 05/17/17 | $18.30 | $14.725 - $21.207 |
Natural gas enjoyed a “dead-cat bounce” this week as traders took action while platinum and silver rose on higher investor optimism around the manufacturing sector and a weaker U.S. dollar.
Weekly Commodity ETF Movers
For ETF investors, we tracked the top three biggest gainers and top three biggest losers for the past week. Not included are ETN’s, which behave differently than ETF’s, as well as leveraged ETF’s which may not be suitable for some investors. Considering the limited data for the year, all ETF’s were taken into consideration regardless of YTD gains.
Top Three ETF Winners This Week:
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($ Million) | NAV (as of Feb. 28) | Return (Weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PPLT | ETFS Physical Platinum Shares ETF | Platinum | $473.99 | $98.17 | 1.94% | 13.61% | 0.60% |
| GEUR | Gartman Gold/Euro ETF | Gold/Euro | $17.45 | $12.63 | 1.85% | 8.88% | 0.77% |
| SGOL | ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares ETF | Swiss gold | $934.91 | $121.56 | 1.27% | 8.77% | 0.39% |
Precious metals were the big ETF winners this week as a weakened U.S. dollar helped lift values. Meanwhile, an upcoming Fed meeting regarding a possible rate hike caused demand for safe haven assets to rise.
Check out a list of precious metal ETFs on ETFdb.com to review their performance.
Top Three ETF Losers This Week:
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($ million) | NAV (as of Feb. 28) | Return (Weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNG | United States Natural Gas Fund | Natural gas | $532.93 | $6.53 | -8.80% | -30.09% | 0.60% |
| UNL | United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund | Natural gas | $16.44 | $9.52 | -6.85% | -18.56% | 0.75% |
| CANE | The Teucrium Sugar Fund | Sugar | $5.51 | $13.12 | -4.72% | 0.92% | 1.76% |
Natural gas ETFs fell once again this week as mild weather dragged demand down even further. Sugar finally saw a drop in value this week, driven primarily by trader activity.
See how natural gas ETFs and agriculture ETFs performed during this week on ETFdb.com
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.
