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 August 1st to August 8th.
- Crude oil prices failed to breach the $50 per barrel mark this week as rising inventories at major oil producers spooked investors.
- Copper prices rose to a 3-year high as Chinese consumer demand for the metal sparked a rally.
- Sugar prices dropped below a critical threshold value and made the production of ethanol profitable, leading to renewed interest for the commodity next week.
- Be sure to check out the previous week’s article to keep track of trends in the commodities space.
Weekly Market Wrap-up
Energy – Oil prices rose this week compared to last week, but remained under $50 per barrel as rising inventories offset news of a production cut.
- Oil – After recovering somewhat from last week, crude oil settled at $49.17 a barrel for the week on news of rising inventories from major oil producers.
- Natural Gas – Natural gas ended the week near a 5-month low at $2.80 per million British thermal units on bearish weather predictions.
- Coal – According to the latest federal government report, coal is expected to lead the U.S. electricity market over the next two years, thanks to higher exports and increased usage.
Metals – Copper prices jumped to a multi-year high of $2.9455 a pound this week on increased import demand from Chinese consumers.
- Precious Metals – A strong U.S. dollar nearing a two-week high was responsible for gold trading flat for the week at $1,261.74 a troy ounce.
- Other – Platinum prices rose to a 3-month high of $982.80 per ounce on technical buying activity and geopolitical concerns.
Grains – Rising global cotton consumption helped lift December futures to 70.69 cents a pound as positive momentum builds.
- Corn and Soybeans – Corn prices rose with expectations at $4.10 a bushel for the fall season on increased Chinese and U.S. industrial demand.
Softs – Sugar demand rose this week as sugar prices fell below the line that makes ethanol production profitable, causing a surge in sugar prices toward the end of the week.
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 August 8) | 52-Week Price Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platinum | 2.86% | 10/17/17 | $976.60 | $890 - $1,199 |
| Copper | 1.98% | 09/17/17 | $2.92 | $2.06 - $2.95 |
| U.S. Coffee | 1.64% | 09/17/17 | $142.57 | $113 - $176 |
It was a good week for metals as both platinum and copper made the list for best weekly commodity performances. A combination of geopolitical risk concerns and bullish Chinese data helped metals gain ground this week, while U.S. coffee gained on positive weather.
Weekly Commodity ETF Movers
For ETF investors, we tracked the top three biggest gainers and top three biggest losers for the past week. Not included are ETN’s, which behave differently than ETF’s, as well as leveraged ETF’s which may not be suitable for some investors. Some ETF’s that have less than one year on the market have been excluded due to lack of long term data.
You can use ETFdb.com’s Screener to see a complete list of commodity ETFs.
Top Three ETF Winners This Week
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($ millions) | NAV (as of August 8) | Return (weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PPLT | ETFs Physical Platinum Shares ETF | Platinum | $544.55 | $92.51 | 2.80% | 7.06% | 0.60% |
| DBB | PowerShares DB Base Metals Fund | Metals | $266.07 | $17.13 | 2.09% | 14.81% | 0.75% |
| CPER | United States Copper Index Fund | Copper | $10.33 | $18.74 | 0.54% | 14.62% | 0.80% |
Metals were the big winners for this week’s best-performing commodity-based ETFs led by platinum and copper. Following behind the underlying commodities for this week, both metals helped these ETFs go higher as geopolitical risks and positive Chinese data took center stage.
Top Three ETF Losers This Week
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($ millions) | NAV (as of August 8) | Return (weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CANE | The Teucrium Sugar Fund | Sugar | $8.12 | $9.87 | -5.10% | -24.08% | 1.00% |
| SLV | iShares Silver Trust ETF | Silver | $5,671.12 | $15.33 | -3.58% | 1.46% | 0.50% |
| SIVR | ETFs Physical Silver Shares ETF | Silver | $347.23 | $15.85 | -3.53% | 1.67% | 0.30% |
This week’s worst-performing commodity-based ETFs fell victim to profit-taking in sugar and a rise in the value of the U.S. dollar. The dollar’s strength hurt silver funds as investors sought protection in other asset classes.
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.
