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 May 29th to June 5th.
- Qatar’s dismissal from OPEC caused oil prices to fall this week as investors voiced concerns that it may impact global supply and hurt the OPEC production cut deal.
- Sugar prices dropped precipitously after a breakdown in U.S.-Mexico trade talks.
- Precious metals were lifted higher this week as investors considered the British elections along with the recent FBI inquiry in the U.S.
- Be sure to check our previous week’s report to keep track of the changes in the commodity market.
Weekly Market Wrap-up
Energy – Crude oil prices fell after OPEC nations cut ties with Qatar, causing investors to worry about the future of the OPEC production cut and the impact it will have on supply.
- Oil – Crude oil prices fell to $47.40 a barrel after Saudi Arabia and other OPEC nations severed ties with Qatar.
- Natural Gas – Warm weather expectations sent natural gas prices to to $2.935 per million British thermal units – the lowest level since March.
- Coal – A false fact that the U.S. had added 50,000 coal-related jobs to the U.S. economy highlighted how much trouble the industry is in and the challenges it continues to face.
Metals – A rise in Shanghai inventories caused copper prices to drop to $5,628 a tonne on the LME.
- Precious Metals – Gold prices hit an intraday high of $1,292.09 a troy ounce last week, rising to its highest level in six weeks on investor concerns surrounding the British elections.
- Other – Steel rebar prices jumped this week on reports of a supply shortage in China, causing a large price divergence in iron ore and rebar prices.
Grains – Wheat prices rose this week as adverse weather condition in the U.S., Canada and the Black Sea region threatened global supply.
- Corn and Soybeans – Soybean futures rose slightly on fund short-covering and increased buying activity.
Softs – U.S.-Mexico trade talks involving sugar sent prices plummeting to $27.66 cents per lb. – the largest single-day drop in over 12 months.
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 June 5) | 52-Week Price Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platinum | 2.33% | 07/17/17 | $963.50 | $889.55 - $1,199.45 |
| Gold | 2.28% | 08/17/17 | $1,294.37 | $1,123.9 - $1,376.4 |
| U.S. Corn | 1.84% | 07/17/17 | $374.75 | $301 - $439.25 |
Platinum and gold, both precious metal commodities, topped this week’s list of highest weekly performances. Concerns surrounding the FBI inquiry in the U.S. as well as the British election contributed to the gain. U.S. corn prices rose as well on technical buying and fund short-cover trading.
Weekly Commodity ETF Movers
For ETF investors, we tracked the top three biggest gainers and top three biggest losers for the past week. Not included are ETN’s, which behave differently than ETF’s, as well as leveraged ETF’s which may not be suitable for some investors. Some ETF’s that have less than one year on the market have been excluded due to lack of long term data.
Be sure to check out commodity ETFs on ETFdb.com to compare and contrast the performance and characteristics of these funds.
Top Three ETF Winners This Week
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($ million) | NAV (as of June 5) | Return (weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PALL | ETFS Physical Palladium Shares ETF | Palladium | $204.66 | $80.97 | 6.82% | 24.17% | 0.60% |
| GLTR | ETFS Physical Precious Metals Basket Shares ETF | Precious Metals | $323.92 | $64.04 | 1.47% | 11.26% | 0.60% |
| SLV | iShares Silver Trust ETF | Silver | $5,838.43 | $16.63 | 1.40% | 10.06% | 0.50% |
Following along with this week’s top commodity performers, precious metal ETFs were the best performing commodity-based ETFs for the week. Safe-haven assets gained on investors’ worries regarding political uncertainty in the U.S. and Europe.
Top Three ETF Losers This Week
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($ million) | NAV (as of June 5) | Return (weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNG | United States Natural Gas Fund | Natural Gas | $437.56 | $6.73 | -9.54% | -27.94% | 1.27% |
| UHN | United States Diesel Heating Oil Fund | Heating Oil | $2.81 | $13.83 | -8.71% | -17.58% | 0.75% |
| CANE | The Teucrium Sugar Fund | Sugar | $8.03 | $9.80 | -7.55% | -24.62% | 1.00% |
This week’s worst commodity-based ETF performers were somewhat diversified with natural gas leading the way on warm weather expectations. Meanwhile, sugar took a hit on issues surrounding U.S.-Mexico trade talks.
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.
