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 March 6 to March 13.
- The price of oil saw the biggest week-over-week decline in four months.
- Natural gas prices continue to rise as colder weather swept across the U.S., driving demand higher.
- Other than natural gas and U.S. coffee, the majority of other commodities was negative for the week.
- Be sure to read our previous week’s report to become familiar with commodity market trends.
Weekly Market Wrap-up
Energy – With U.S. drillers adding oil rigs for the eighth consecutive week and Russia’s agreement to rein in production by 1.8 million barrels per day, oil prices took a dive. Meanwhile, natural gas prices continue to rise as snow storms begin to move towards the northeastern U.S.
- Oil – Oil prices witnessed a pullback of over 8% since last Monday, marking the biggest week-over-week drop in the last four months. Check out our take on key actionable ideas to invest in crude oil.
- Natural Gas – U.S. natural gas was the week’s best performer, increasing 3.76% to around $3.01 per million British thermal units as colder weather drove up demand.
- Coal – President Trump is expected to begin easing regulations on coal shortly. However, the carbon capture, utilization and sequestration (CCUS) process might face challenges because of huge upfront costs to install the equipment in the current setup.
Metals – Like most of the commodity market, both silver and platinum saw a decline of 4.48% and 3.96% respectively for the week.
- Precious Metals – Gold declined 1.69% for the week and ended at $1,203.95 per troy ounce as investors focused on the imminent rise in interest rates during this week’s Fed meeting.
- Other – Prices of copper futures saw a slight decline of 0.45% to $2.63 /pound even though a major mine in Peru began a five-day strike on Friday.
Grains – U.S. wheat saw a large 6.10% decline as bad weather continues to affect the farming conditions in the nation’s heartland.
- Corn and Soybeans – Corn and soybeans saw declines of 3.05% and 3.01% respectively for the week.
Softs – Cotton also declined for the week by 2.98% but remained one of the best year-to-date commodity performers, up by 8.70%.
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.
| Commodity | Weekly Gain (%) | Contract Expiration | Contract Price (as of March 13) | 52-Week Price Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natural Gas | 3.76% | 5/17/2017 | $3.01 | $3.99 - $1.77 |
| U.S. Coffee | 1.99% | 5/17/2017 | $142.43 | $176.00 - $118.70 |
| Copper | -0.45% | 5/17/2017 | $2.63 | $2.82 - $2.02 |
Natural gas was this week’s largest gainer in the commodity sector, up 3.76% due to a higher demand caused by colder weather in most of the country. U.S. coffee was the only other commodity that was positive for the week, up 1.99% to $142.43.
Weekly Commodity ETF Movers
For ETF investors, we tracked the top three biggest gainers and top three biggest losers for the past week. Not included are ETN’s, which behave differently than ETF’s, as well as leveraged ETF’s which may not be suitable for some investors. Considering the limited data for the year, all ETF’s were taken into consideration regardless of YTD gains.
Be sure to check the complete list of commodity ETFs on ETFdb.com.
Top Three ETF Winners This Week:
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($ Million) | NAV (as of March 13) | Return (Weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DNO | United States Short Oil Fund | Crude Oil | $10.30 | 69.56 | 9.28% | 12.19% | 0.60% |
| UNG | United States Natural Gas Fund | Natural Gas | $512.40 | $7.37 | 7.46% | -21.31% | 0.60% |
| UNL | United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund | Natural Gas | $11.40 | $10.41 | 3.69% | -11.04% | 0.75% |
With oil down big for the week, the United States Short Oil Fund (DNO) had the week’s biggest return. The fund shorts oil futures and had the week’s largest return by betting against the price of oil.
See how crude oil ETFs and natural gas ETFs performed this week on ETFdb.com.
Top Three ETF Losers This Week:
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($ Million) | NAV (as of March 13) | Return (Weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USO | United States Oil Fund | Crude Oil | $2,621.90 | $10.29 | -8.86% | -12.20% | 0.45% |
| OILK | ProShares K1 Free Crude Oil Strategy ETF | Crude Oil | $3.00 | $4.69 | -8.82% | -12.72% | 0.65% |
| BNO | United States Brent Oil Fund | Brent Oil | $100.80 | $13.99 | -7.97% | -10.84% | 0.90% |
Unlike the top-performing ETF of the week, which shorted oil, the United States Oil Fund (USO) is directly correlated to the price of oil and therefore fell over 8%.
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.
