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 April 3 to April 7.
- The missile strike on Syria increased geopolitical tensions last week and hurt oil production, lifting crude and brent oil prices.
- Along with the military action against Syria, a fall in the U.S. dollar helped lift precious metal prices last week.
- Technical trading and short-sell covering boosted corn prices for the week.
- Be sure to check our previous week’s report, so that you are aware of the changing trends in the commodity space.
Weekly Market Wrap-up
Energy – Both crude and brent oil prices rose last week following the Syrian missile strike, while natural gas rose on lower supplies.
- Oil – Following the U.S.’s missile attack on Syria, crude oil prices ticked higher to $53.10 per barrel to end the week, while brent prices moved up to $56.02.
- Natural Gas – Natural gas supplies in storage rose less than expected last week, sending prices higher to around $3.32 per million British thermal units.
- Coal – The aftermath of cyclone Debbie helped lift coal prices in Australia, with hard coking coal hitting $283.10 per metric tonne.
Metals – Aluminum prices along with equities took a hit last week after talks about a possible Trump aluminum import tariff weighed on investors’ minds.
- Precious Metals – Geopolitical tensions were responsible for lifting gold prices up to $1,259.25 per ounce and for the fall in the value of the U.S. dollar.
- Other – Oversupply concerns following mine strikes caused copper prices to fall, with LME copper dropping to $5,740 a tonne.
Grains – Wheat prices continued to trade at the bottom, at less than $4.80 per bushel, as exports lagged.
- Corn and Soybeans – Technical chart pattern buying and short-sell covering helped lift corn prices, with CBOT May futures trading at $3.67 per bushel to end the week.
Softs – The missile attack against Syria hurt cotton prices last week, while a 33% drop in export drove values down even further.
If you want to know which commodity is 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 April 10) | 52-Week Price Cchange |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crude Oil | 3.82% | 05/17/17 | $53.11 | $37.61 - $55.24 |
| Heating Oil | 3.46% | 05/17/17 | $1.65 | $1.1704 - $1.7647 |
| Brent Oil | 3.19% | 06/17/17 | $56.02 | $40.1 - $58.37 |
Oil was the big winner for commodities last week as geopolitical tensions following the missile strike against Syria, which helped lift prices. The Fed was also responsible for investors’ jitters with a more aggressive rate stance, sending oil prices higher.
Weekly Commodity ETF Movers
For ETF investors, we tracked the top three biggest gainers and top three biggest losers for the past week. Not included are ETN’s, which behave differently than ETF’s, as well as leveraged ETF’s which may not be suitable for some investors. Considering the limited data for the year, all ETF’s were taken into consideration regardless of YTD gains.
Top Three ETF Winners This Week:
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($ million) | NAV (as of April 10) | Return (Weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UHN | United States Diesel Heating Oil Fund | Heating oil | 4.67 | $15.76 | 6.06% | -6.08% | 0.60% |
| USO | United States Oil Fund | Oil | 2,838.47 | $11.14 | 5.59% | -4.95% | 0.45% |
| BNO | United States Brent Oil Fund | Oil | 106.22 | $15.15 | 5.35% | -3.38% | 0.90% |
Following the biggest weekly gainers in the commodities space, all three of the top commodity ETFs were oil-based. An oil production decline following the missile attack against Syria helped lift oil prices.
Check here to find how crude oil ETFs performed last week on ETFdb.com.
Top Three ETF Losers This Week:
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($ million) | NAV (as of April 10) | Return (Weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PALL | ETFS Physical Palladium Shares ETF | Palladium | 204.47 | $75.54 | -1.79% | 15.84% | 0.60% |
| PPLT | ETFS Physical Platinum Shares ETF | Platinum | 536.91 | $90.12 | -1.60% | 4.29% | 0.60% |
| SIVR | ETFS Physical Silver Shares ETF | Silver | 366.79 | $17.53 | -1.52% | 12.44% | 0.30% |
Palladium led this week’s biggest ETF losers as investors sold out of gains, while platinum and silver took a hit after jumping up in value over the past month.
To look further into precious metal ETFs on ETFdb.com, click here.
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.
