
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 June 5th to June 12th.
- Oil prices dropped again this week as new data from May revealed an increase in production.
- Copper rose this week on bullish Chinese demand and supply concerns in Chile.
- Record low yields on spring wheat crops helped lift prices this week as investors speculated on how high values might rise.
- Be sure to read our previous week’s article to stay up to date with the trends in the commodity space.
Weekly Market Wrap-up
Energy – Oil dropped again this week as May data showed a rise in production, while natural gas climbed on mixed weather forecasts.
- Oil – Oil prices ticked lower last week, with crude oil dropping to $45.91 a barrel after May data showed a rise in production. Click here to see how oil is priced.
- Natural Gas – Natural gas prices drifted higher to $3.030-per-million British thermal units on uncertain weather conditions.
- Coal – Coal demand worldwide dropped in 2016, marking the second year in a row of a decline according to a report released last week.
Metals – Strong demand from China and supply concerns in Chile helped lift copper prices to $5,813.5 a tonne on the LME.
- Precious Metals – Gold dropped to $1,268.40 a troy ounce ahead of the Fed meeting as investors prepare for another rate hike.
- Other – Aluminum faces pressure from Trump’s plan, which would add an import duty to the metal and raise prices for products that use aluminum.
Grains – The worst spring crop in 29 years was good news for wheat prices, which rose to $6.28 a bushel.
- Corn and Soybeans – July corn futures gained to $3.83 on increased rain forecasts, while soybeans rose as well.
Softs – A sugar agreement was reached between the U.S. and Mexico that will increase the price of sugar sold to Mexico.
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Copper | 2.91% | 07/17/17 | $2.60 | $2.043 - $2.822 |
U.S. Coffee | 1.46% | 07/17/17 | $126.38 | $125.25 - $176 |
U.S. Corn | 0.40% | 07/17/17 | $382.75 | $301 - $439 |
Copper led the way this week for the best-performing commodities as higher demand from China and concerns on stricter supply in Chile helped buoy prices. Meanwhile, coffee and corn gained on bullish speculation and forecasts of wetter weather.
Weekly Commodity ETF Movers
For ETF investors, we tracked the top three biggest gainers and top three biggest losers for the past week. Not included are ETN’s, which behave differently than ETF’s, as well as leveraged ETF’s which may not be suitable for some investors. Considering the limited data for the year, all ETF’s were taken into consideration regardless of YTD gains.
Check out a full list of commodity ETFs here on ETFdb.com to compare themes and to view performance.
Top Three ETF Winners This Week
ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($ million) | NAV (as of June 12) | Return (weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PALL | ETFS Physical Palladium Shares ETF | Palladium | $204.42 | $85.95 | 6.15% | 31.80% | 0.60% |
FAAR | First Trust Alternative Absolute Return Strategy ETF | Broad Commodities | $4.35 | $29.79 | 1.85% | 3.65% | 0.95% |
CPER | United States Copper Index Fund | Copper | $12.87 | $16.90 | 1.81% | 3.36% | 0.80% |
This week’s list of best weekly performing commodity-based ETFs all involved metals – palladium, copper and a broad basket of metals. Increased demand from China helped lift copper prices, while palladium rose mainly on investor sentiment for safe-haven assets other than gold.
Top Three ETF Losers This Week
ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($ million) | NAV (as of June 12) | Return (weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SLV | iShares Silver Trust ETF | Silver | $5,976.41 | $16.04 | -3.55% | 6.15% | 0.50% |
SIVR | ETFS Physical Silver Shares ETF | Silver | $360.10 | $16.56 | -3.44% | 6.22% | 0.30% |
UGA | United States Gasoline Fund | Gasoline | $59.95 | $23.74 | -3.38% | -24.20% | 0.75% |
Silver led this week’s list of worst-performing commodity-based ETFs as investors worried about Fed rate hike action. Gasoline dropped, yet again, on bearish selling activity.
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.