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 November 8th to November 15th.
- Oil prices traded flat this week as OPEC production cuts helped to offset unexpected gains in U.S. oil inventories.
- Bullish U.S. economic data put a damper on gold’s recent rise with the precious metal trading sideways for the week.
- Lower prices on the Russian market for wheat dragged the commodity lower for the week.
- Be sure to check our previous edition to keep up to date with the latest events in the commodity space.
Weekly Market Wrap-up
Energy – Oil prices traded flat this week as OPEC production cuts help offset rising U.S. oil inventories, while natural gas climbed slightly ahead of the weekly storage data numbers.
- Oil – Oil prices held relatively flat this week with crude closing at $55.33 a barrel as OPEC cuts offset rising U.S. inventories.
- Natural Gas – Natural gas futures ticked higher this week to $3.123 per million British thermal units as investors looked forward to the weekly data storage figures.
- Coal – Coal continues to face a losing battle with the latest report that coal is falling, while green energy is gaining ground in the U.S.
Metals – Weaker-than-expected economic data from China sent copper prices lower for the week.
- Precious Metals – Gold prices traded sideways for the week closing at $1,282.95 a troy ounce as bullish U.S. economic data reduced investor demand for the precious metal.
- Other – Increasing demand for electric vehicles and tightening supply drove platinum prices higher this week.
Grains – December wheat prices fell to $4.24 this week on lower Russian prices for wheat.
- Corn and Soybeans – Positive demand in the U.S. along with greater Chinese buying drove soybean prices higher this week to $9.77-3/4 a bushel.
Softs – Higher cotton demand drove the commodity higher this week with a bullish report for November keeping investors interested.
If you want to know what commodity is 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 November 15) | 52-Week Price Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Cotton | 0.92% | 12/17/17 | $68.97 | $66.16 - $87.18 |
| U.S. Coffee | 0.34% | 12/17/17 | $126.83 | $113 - $161 |
| Silver | -0.09% | 12/17/17 | $16.98 | $15.14 - $18.72 |
Agricultural commodities topped this week’s list of best-performing commodities with cotton in the number one spot on higher global demand. U.S. coffee rose on bullish weather predictions in Brazil. Silver finished off this week’s list.
Weekly Commodity ETF Movers
For ETF investors, we tracked the top three biggest gainers and top three biggest losers for the past week. Not included are ETN’s, which behave differently than ETF’s, as well as leveraged ETF’s which may not be suitable for some investors. Some ETF’s that have less than one year on the market have been excluded due to lack of long term data.
Top Three ETF Winners This Week
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($MM) | NAV (as of November 15) | Return (weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CANE | Teucrium Sugar | Sugar | $7.86 | $9.85 | 1.65% | -24.23% | 1.00% |
| TAGS | Teucrium Agriculture | Agriculture | $1.16 | $22.77 | 0.98% | -11.33% | 1.00% |
| PPLT | ETFS Physical Platinum Shares | Platinum | $551.77 | $88.96 | 0.18% | 2.95% | 0.60% |
This week’s list of best-performing commodity-based ETFs saw agricultural ETFs in the top two spots. Sugar and a broad agricultural fund rose on higher investor demand, while platinum gained on dwindling supply and higher demand for electric vehicles.
Top Three ETF Losers This Week
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($MM) | NAV (as of November 15) | Return (weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UGA | United States Gasoline Fund | Gasoline | $49.13 | $31.24 | -4.84% | -0.26% | 0.75% |
| PALL | ETFS Physical Palladium Shares | Palladium | $236.80 | $94.05 | -2.88% | 44.23% | 0.60% |
| USO | United States Oil Fund | Oil | $2,147.62 | $11.09 | -2.80% | -5.38% | 0.77% |
This week’s worst-performing commodity-based ETFs were mainly in energy, with gasoline dropping the most on falling investor demand. Palladium dropped on profit-taking activity, while the oil fund fell as U.S. inventories came in higher than expected.
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.
