
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 27th to July 5th.
- Oil prices stabilized this week as a report revealed that recent U.S. inventories may be slowing down.
- Geopolitical risks, along with investor jitters with the upcoming FOMC meeting, helped lift gold prices.
- U.S. wheat climbed again this week to a two-year high as continued news of poor crop yields helped lift values.
- Be sure to check out our previous week’s article to keep track of weekly trends in the commodity space.
Weekly Market Wrap-up
Energy – Oil prices were largely unchanged this week as U.S. inventory increases eased, while natural gas prices rose on similar inventory data.
- Oil – A report that the recent rise in U.S. oil inventories could be slowing helped Brent oil stabilize near $50 per barrel, while crude oil traded at $46.98 to end the week.
- Natural Gas – A smaller-than-expected rise in natural gas inventories helped lift natural gas prices to a four-week high of $3.117 per million British thermal units.
- Coal – The recent shutdowns of nearly 150 small Chinese coal ports this week helped lift coal prices, with futures jumping 8% on the day of the announcement.
Metals – Copper prices held steady against geopolitical risks this week at $5,885 a tonne on the London exchange.
- Precious Metals – Geopolitical concerns surrounding North Korea and investor sentiment regarding the upcoming FOMC meeting boosted gold values to $1,224.37 a troy ounce.
- Other – The Department of Commerce’s Section 232 deadline came and went, holding steel prices flat until a decision is made.
Grains – Wheat prices touched a two-year high of $5.56 a bushel following several weeks of gains led by adverse weather conditions and poor crop yields.
- Corn and Soybeans – A report revealing that farmers had an overabundance of corn this week could spark a sell-off as farmers attempt to lock in profits now before prices fall.
Softs – Sugar prices jumped this week on increased buying activity after a long decline had depressed prices.
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 July 5) | 52-Week Price Change |
---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. Wheat | 17.14% | Sept 17 | $554.38 | $381.25 - $556.62 |
U.S. Corn | 8.03% | Sept 17 | $385.38 | $301 - $391.75 |
London Sugar | 6.54% | Sept 17 | $412.10 | $386.4 - $619 |
Agriculture was the big winner this past week in terms of best-performing commodities. Unsurprisingly, U.S. wheat led the way, following along the gains from weeks past while corn and sugar climbed on technical buying activity.
Weekly Commodity ETF Movers
For ETF investors, we tracked the top three biggest gainers and top three biggest losers for the past week. Not included are ETN’s, which behave differently than ETF’s, as well as leveraged ETF’s which may not be suitable for some investors. Some ETF’s that have less than one year on the market have been excluded due to lack of long term data.
Top Three ETF Winners This Week
ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($ million) | NAV (as of July 5) | Return (weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
WEAT | The Teucrium Wheat Fund | Wheat | $77.58 | $8.24 | 16.55% | 19.77% | 1.00% |
UHN | United States Diesel Heating Oil Fund | Heating oil | $2.80 | $14.24 | 8.95% | -15.14% | 0.75% |
TAGS | The Teucrium Agricultural Fund | Broad agriculture | $1.25 | $24.80 | 8.20% | -3.43% | 1.00% |
This week’s top-performing commodity-based ETF was wheat related, following in the footsteps of the underlying commodity. Heating oil saw a rise this week along with a broad-based agriculture fund as other commodities like sugar, coffee, and corn rose.
Top Three ETF Losers This Week
ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($ million) | NAV (as of July 5) | Return (weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GEUR | Gartman Gold/Euro ETF | Gold/Euro | $15.06 | $11.44 | -3.46% | -1.38% | 0.65% |
DBS | PowerShares DB Silver Fund | Silver | $20.53 | $24.95 | -2.73% | 0.36% | 0.75% |
UNG | United States Natural Gas Fund | Natural gas | $447.50 | $6.66 | -2.63% | -28.69% | 1.12% |
This week’s worst-performing commodity-based ETFs were largely metals, with a gold/euro fund topping the list and silver following close behind. Natural gas dropped as well in response to profit-taking from recent gains.
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.