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 October 18th to October 25th.
- Gasoline rose sharply this week on unexpectedly higher demand despite a rise in refining output.
- Weather concerns in the U.S. helped lift U.S. cotton prices to nearly 70 cents per pound.
- After falling recently, copper regained ground as investors turned cautious on stocks.
- Be sure to read our previous article to keep in touch with market activities in the commodities space.
Weekly Market Wrap-up
Energy – An unexpected increase in U.S. crude oil inventories took oil prices lower for the week, while gasoline rose sharply on higher demand.
- Oil – Crude oil prices slipped to $52.18 per barrel after an unexpected increase in U.S. oil inventories.
- Natural Gas – Natural gas prices surged this week before retreating back down to $2.938 per million British thermal units as investors considered the upcoming demand report.
- Gasoline – Demand for gasoline remained strong, drawing deeply on inventories despite a rise in refining output.
Metals – Copper prices rose back above $7,000 a ton this week as investor turned more cautious on stocks.
- Precious Metals – Gold prices were largely unchanged for the week at $1,277.95 a troy ounce as the U.S. dollar faced pressure despite positive economic activity reports.
- Other – Aluminum prices received some good news this week after China announced a 9 to 10 percent increase in demand for the year.
Grains – Wheat prices rose to $4.37-1/4 a bushel after Australian production losses offset ample supply concerns.
- Corn and Soybeans – January soybean futures rose to $9.86 on improving export sales.
Softs – Weather concerns in the U.S. sent cotton prices soaring higher for the week to 69.59 cents a pound.
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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 October 25) | 52-Week Price Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Cotton | 2.79% | 12/17/17 | $69.20 | $66.16 - $87.18 |
| Heating Oil | 2.31% | 11/17/17 | $1.82 | $1.35 - $1.86 |
| Natural Gas | 2.26% | 11/17/17 | $2.94 | $2.52 - $3.99 |
U.S. cotton led this week’s list of best-performing commodities as U.S. weather concerns impacted demand. Heating oil and natural gas prices also saw large gains due to higher global demand and a weaker U.S. dollar.
Weekly Commodity ETF Movers
For ETF investors, we tracked the top three biggest gainers and top three biggest losers for the past week. Not included are ETN’s, which behave differently than ETF’s, as well as leveraged ETF’s which may not be suitable for some investors. Some ETF’s that have less than one year on the market have been excluded due to lack of long term data.
Top Three ETF Winners This Week
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($ million) | NAV (as of October 25) | Return (Weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UGA | United States Gasoline Fund | Gasoline | $55.70 | $30.36 | 3.65% | -3.07% | 0.75% |
| DBB | PowerShares DB Base Metals Fund | Metals | $300.36 | $18.94 | 2.32% | 26.94% | 0.75% |
| DBE | PowerShares DB Energy Fund | Energy | $167.58 | $13.33 | 1.45% | -3.48% | 0.75% |
This week’s list of best weekly performing commodity-based ETFs was relatively diverse, with gasoline topping the list due to unexpected demand. A broad metals fund gained, with investors taking a more cautious view on stocks, while the energy ETF rose mainly on natural gas price gains.
Top Three ETF Losers This Week
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($ million) | NAV (as of October 25) | Return (Weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TAGS | Teucrium Agricultural Fund | Agriculture | $1.17 | $22.55 | -1.53% | -12.19% | 1.00% |
| USAG | United States Agriculture Index Fund | Agriculture | $1.77 | $16.24 | -1.10% | -10.13% | 0.80% |
| SOYB | Teucrium Soybean Fund | Soybeans | $20.32 | $18.45 | -0.81% | -3.40% | 1.00% |
It was a bad week for agricultural-based ETFs, with three making this week’s list of worst-performing commodity-based ETFs. Most agricultural commodities saw losses this week on lower demand and poor buying 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.
