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 December 21st to January 3rd.
- Crude oil prices jumped to a two-and-a-half-year high to open up the year as global inventories fell.
- Gold prices continued to perform well as investors awaited word from the Fed regarding interest rates in 2018.
- Natural gas prices started off the year strong as colder-than-expected winter weather gave the commodity a positive bump.
- Be sure to read our previous edition to keep in touch with the commodities market
Weekly Market Wrap-up
Energy – Crude oil prices jumped to a two-and-a-half-year high as the global supply glut shrank, while cold winter weather caused natural gas prices to spike.
- Oil – Crude oil prices jumped to $62.09 this week, a two-and-a-half-year high, passing the critical shale oil threshold.
- Natural Gas – Natural gas prices rose to $3.06 per million British thermal units on positive storage data and colder-than-expected winter weather in the U.S.
- Gasoline – Colder-than-expected winter weather helped gasoline prices continue to rise this week to a national average of $2.49 a gallon.
Metals – Copper prices ticked slightly lower to open up the new year as surging consumer demand in China was offset by a rising U.S. dollar.
- Precious Metals – Gold prices rose to $1,317.50 a troy ounce despite a rise in the U.S. dollar as investors awaited the Fed’s decision regarding the future of interest rate hikes.
- Other – Strong demand from the auto industry helped palladium prices hit a record high of $1,096.50 per ounce to start off 2018.
Grains – Wheat futures prices climbed this week as unexpectedly cold winter weather damaged crops across the midwest.
- Corn and Soybeans – Cold weather snaps helped both corn and soybean prices rise higher this week.
- Softs – Coffee prices ended the week higher at $1.28 per pound on a short-covering rally but could be headed lower in the coming weeks.
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.
You can use ETFdb.com’s Screener to see a complete list of commodity ETFs.
| Commodity | Weekly Gain (%) | Contract Expiration | Contract Price (as ofJanuary 3) | 52-Week Price Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natural Gas | 4.94% | 02/18/18 | $3.06 | $2.52-$3.51 |
| Crude Oil WTI | 3.76% | 02/18/18 | $62.09 | $42.05-$61.95 |
| U.S. Coffee | 2.91% | 03/18/18 | $128.43 | $113-$156 |
Starting off the new year strong, natural gas topped this week’s list of best-performing commodities thanks to colder-than-expected winter weather. Crude oil prices also rose hitting a two-and-a-half-year high on dwindling supplies, while coffee climbed on short covering.
Weekly Commodity ETF Movers
For ETF investors, we tracked the top three biggest gainers and top three biggest losers for the past week. Not included are ETN’s, which behave differently than ETF’s, as well as leveraged ETF’s which may not be suitable for some investors. Some ETF’s that have less than one year on the market have been excluded due to lack of long-term data
Top Three ETF Winners This Week
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($MM) | NAV (as of January 3) | Return (weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNG | United States Natural Gas Fund | Natural Gas | $674.84 | $5.91 | 9.65% | 1.37% | 1.12% |
| TAGS | Teucrium Agricultural Fund | Agricultural | $1.15 | $22.47 | 5.05% | 1.67% | 1.00% |
| UNL | United States 12-Month Natural Gas Fund | Natural Gas | $8.45 | $9.30 | 4.49% | 1.31% | 0.90% |
This week’s list of best-performing commodity-based ETFs found two natural gas ETFs in the top three spots. Cold weather helped natural gas prices rise, while a broad agricultural fund rose as cold weather conditions harmed crops.
Top Three ETF Losers This Week
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($MM) | NAV (as of January 3) | Return (weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPER | United States Copper Index Fund | Copper | $12.54 | $20.81 | -0.64% | -1.18% | 0.80% |
| CORN | Teucrium Corn Fund | Corn | $65.32 | $16.84 | -0.12% | 0.44% | 1.00% |
| DBB | PowerShares DB Base Metals Fund | Metals | $314.18 | $19.26 | 0.00% | -0.77% | 0.75% |
This week’s list of worst-performing commodity-based ETFs has a copper ETF in the number one spot. A corn ETF and a broad metals fund also rounded out the list for similar reasons with the U.S. dollar hurting commodity prices.
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.
