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 15th to November 22nd.
- Crude and Brent oil prices climbed higher after the first drop in oil inventories in three weeks.
- Gold prices ticked higher, nearing $1,300 a troy ounce, as investors looked forward to the Fed’s next meeting regarding interest rates.
- U.S. corn rose this week on bullish speculation led mainly by hedge funds betting against wheat and sugar.
- Be sure to read our previous week’s article here to remain aware of the latest events in the commodities space.
Weekly Market Wrap-up
Energy – Oil prices rose higher for the week on improving global energy demand, while natural gas slipped to a three-week low.
- Oil – Crude oil rose to $57.92 a barrel for the week. The commodity also touched the $58 mark – the highest since July 2015 – in an earlier trading session before dropping during the holiday trading session.
- Natural Gas – Natural gas fell this week to a three-week low of $2.994 per million British thermal units ahead of the supply report.
- Coal – Coal production fell again this week year-over-year with demand slipping alongside it.
Metals – Positive data on Chinese housing prices sent copper prices higher this week to $3.13 per ounce.
- Precious Metals – Gold prices ticked higher to $1,290.13 a troy ounce as investors looked ahead to the Fed’s decision regarding future interest rate hikes.
- Other – Steel prices rose this week on higher-than-expected demand from China, even while Chinese steel production continues to decline, particularly in Northern China where environmental restrictions have curbed steel production.
Grains – Wheat dropped on reports of ample global supplies, led by a record Russian crop yield.
- Corn and Soybeans – Corn prices jumped this week on bullish speculation, with December contracts rising to $3.43.
Softs – Speculation led to the decline in soft commodities this week, as bearish investors turned their attention to sugar.
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 22) | 52-Week Price Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Corn | 5.91% | 03/18/17 | $356.40 | $328.5 - $394.5 |
| Crude Oil | 4.99% | 01/18/17 | $57.88 | $42.05 - $58.14 |
| Copper | 2.86% | 12/17/17 | $3.13 | $2.44 - $3.22 |
U.S. corn led this week’s list of best-performing commodities after speculators turned more bullish on the agricultural commodity. Crude oil jumped to a multi-week high, while copper prices were helped along by positive Chinese housing data.
Weekly Commodity ETF Movers
For ETF investors, we tracked the top three biggest gainers and top three biggest losers for the past week. Not included are ETN’s, which behave differently than ETF’s, as well as leveraged ETF’s which may not be suitable for some investors. Some ETF’s that have less than one year on the market have been excluded due to lack of long term data.
Top Three ETF Winners This Week
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($MM) | NAV (as of November 22) | Return (weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USO | United States Oil Fund | Oil | $2,205.53 | $11.60 | 4.60% | -1.02% | 0.77% |
| DBO | PowerShares DB Oil Fund | Oil | $342.34 | $9.76 | 3.72% | 0.83% | 0.75% |
| CPER | United States Copper Index Fund | Copper | $9.04 | $20.20 | 2.80% | 0.83% | 0.80% |
This week’s list of best-performing commodity-based ETFs were mainly oil related, with both Brent and crude oil trending higher. A copper ETF made the list as well after a better-than-expected Chinese housing report helped push copper prices higher.
Top Three ETF Losers This Week
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($MM) | NAV (as of November 22) | Return (weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNG | United States Natural Gas Fund | Natural Gas | $524.37 | $6.10 | -3.63% | -34.69% | 1.12% |
| WEAT | Teucrium Wheat | Wheat | $63.11 | $6.20 | -1.43% | -9.88% | 1.00% |
| UNL | United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund | Natural Gas | $8.41 | $9.80 | -1.11% | -16.17% | 0.90% |
This week’s list of worst-performing commodity-based ETFs included two natural gas ETFs as prices fell to a three-week low. A wheat ETF also featured in this week’s list as wheat prices dropped following a surge in global supplies.
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.
