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 Apr.25 to May 1.
- Oil prices tumbled again this week on higher U.S. and Libyan oil production while global demand shrunk.
- Gold and silver fell for the week as fears of a government shutdown dissipated after an agreement was reached.
- Wheat prices rose dramatically in just a couple days as a late winter storm ravaged the Midwest and sent demand soaring.
- Be sure to check our previous week’s roundup to follow the trend in the commodities space.
Weekly Market Wrap-up
Energy – Rising U.S. and Libyan oil production along with lower global demand sent oil lower for the week, while natural gas prices rose and then quickly fell after supply data turned out to be higher than expected.
- Oil – Oil prices dropped again this week with U.S. crude falling to $48.81 a barrel as rising output from Libya and the U.S. put pressure on prices along with falling global demand. Check out the difference between Brent and WTI oil to know more about how the oil industry operates.
- Natural Gas – Natural gas prices ticked up slightly from last week to $3.25 per million British thermal units but still traded lower from earlier in the week after storage data came in higher than expected.
- Coal – A recent energy report revealed that coal may still have a future in the form of clean coal power exports.
Metals – A report by Goldman Sachs this week predicted that aluminum prices could hit $2,000 per metric ton in the next six months following Chinese supply-side reforms.
- Precious Metals – An agreement reached by the U.S. government to prevent a shutdown caused gold prices to fall to a three-week low of $1,263.80 a troy ounce.
- Other – A possible technical glitch caused copper prices to spike more than 2.5% on Monday while further mine strike concerns could constrict future supply.
Grains – A late U.S. winter storm caused wheat prices to jump by more than 8% to $4.59 a bushel in just 2 days.
- Corn and Soybeans – Corn prices stagnated for the week as a lack of a catalyst kept investors from buying or selling.
Softs – Continuing the strength from last week, cotton futures hit a new multi-year high of $78.78 on bullish speculation.
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 May 1) | 52-Week Price Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Wheat | 7.96% | 07/17/17 | $461.25 | $381.25 - $523.88 |
| Natural Gas | 5.95% | 06/17/17 | $3.22 | $1.909 - $3.994 |
| U.S. Coffee | 4.94% | 07/17/17 | $136.32 | $118.7 - $176 |
Wheat was the top weekly gainer across the commodity sector this week as a late winter storm helped drive prices higher. Meanwhile natural gas and U.S. coffee ticked higher on boosted demand prospects.
Weekly Commodity ETF Movers
For ETF investors, we tracked the top three biggest gainers and top three biggest losers for the past week. Not included are ETN’s, which behave differently than ETF’s, as well as leveraged ETF’s which may not be suitable for some investors. Considering the limited data for the year, all ETF’s were taken into consideration regardless of YTD gains.
Check out ETF screener on ETFdb.com to see a complete list of commodity ETFs.
Top Three ETF Winners This Week
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($ million) | NAV (as of May 1) | Return (weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PALL | ETFS Physical Palladium Shares ETF | Palladium | $197.67 | $79.17 | 4.12% | 21.41% | 0.60% |
| DBA | PowerShares DB Agricultural Fund | Agriculture | $711.65 | $19.74 | 2.33% | -1.15% | 0.85% |
| UNG | United States Natural Gas Fund | Natural Gas | $446.37 | $7.57 | 2.30% | -18.95% | 1.27% |
Palladium was once again on this week’s list of top commodity-based ETF performers as investors sought out safe haven assets. DBA gained mostly on wheat’s rise while natural gas followed the underlying commodities performance.
Top Three ETF Losers This Week
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($ million) | NAV (as of May 1) | Return (weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UGA | United States Gasoline Fund | Gasoline | $56.78 | $24.61 | -6.10% | -21.42% | 0.75% |
| SLV | iShares Silver Trust ETF | Silver | $5,764.55 | $16.30 | -4.23% | 7.88% | 0.50% |
| DBS | PowerShares DB Silver Fund | Silver | $26.75 | $26.71 | -4.16% | 7.44% | 0.75% |
Gasoline and silver rounded out this week’s list of worst-performing commodity-based ETFs. Investors avoided gold and silver investments after the U.S. government came to an agreement to prevent a shutdown.
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.
