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 January 3rd to January 11th.
- Crude oil prices continued to move higher this week after reports of another decline in stockpiles.
- A falling U.S. dollar and downbeat economic data helped gold prices rise this week.
- U.S. cotton prices jumped higher this week on investor speculation and increased demand.
- Be sure to read our previous edition to remain in touch with key events in the commodities space.
Weekly Market Wrap-up
Energy – Crude oil prices soared to $64.42 per barrel as a decline in stockpile boosted investor confidence while natural gas prices rose on a record high withdrawal in storage supplies.
- Oil – Crude oil prices continued to move higher this week to $64.42 a barrel as investor optimism rose after a report that crude oil inventories dropped by 4.9 million barrels.
- Natural Gas – Natural gas futures hit $3.055 per million British thermal units this week after a report showing the largest withdraw on record in U.S. storage supplies.
- Gasoline – The national average for gasoline prices ticked slightly higher this week to $2.488 per gallon.
Metals – A falling U.S. dollar helped copper prices rise to $7,160 per tonne after dropping earlier on a strong dollar value.
- Precious Metals – Gold prices held strong at $1,322.10 per troy ounce this week after the U.S. dollar weakened on downbeat economic data.
- Other – Aluminum prices gained this week due to large trading volumes and higher oil prices coupled with a falling U.S. dollar.
Grains – Wheat futures for March dropped to $4.33 on falling demand.
- Corn and Soybeans – Corn futures for March rose to $3.49 following last week’s poor performance.
Softs – Higher demand and investor speculation helped lift U.S. cotton prices this week to $82.65.
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 January 11) | 52-Week Price Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natural Gas | 5.94% | 02/18/18 | $3.06 | $2.52 - $3.51 |
| U.S. Cotton | 4.29% | 03/18/18 | $82.65 | $66.16 - $87.18 |
| Crude Oil WTI | 4.19% | 02/18/18 | $64.50 | $42.05 - $63.66 |
Natural gas led this week’s list of top performing commodities after a record withdraw in storage supplies. U.S. cotton gained ground on higher demand and investor speculation while crude oil rose again this week after a decline in stockpiles.
You can use ETFdb.com’s Screener to see a complete list of commodity ETFs.
Weekly Commodity ETF Movers
For ETF investors, we tracked the top three biggest gainers and top three biggest losers for the past week. Not included are ETN’s, which behave differently than ETF’s, as well as leveraged ETF’s which may not be suitable for some investors. Some ETF’s that have less than one year on the market have been excluded due to lack of long term data.
Top Three ETF Winners This Week
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($MM) | NAV (as of January 11) | Return (weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USO | United States Oil Fund | Oil | $2,131.05 | $12.68 | 2.76% | 5.58% | 0.77% |
| DBO | PowerShares DB Oil Fund | Oil | $347.14 | $10.69 | 2.69% | 5.32% | 0.75% |
| USL | United States 12 Month Oil Fund | Oil | $93.23 | $21.87 | 2.58% | 4.54% | 0.72% |
This week’s list of best performing commodity-based ETFs were all oil related. Oil prices are soaring to multi-year highs while stockpiles continue to drop, lifting all oil-based ETFs in the process. The top oil ETF, USO, is up 5.58% YTD already.
Top Three ETF Losers This Week
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($MM) | NAV (as of January 11) | Return (weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CANE | Teucrium Sugar Fund | Sugar | $6.53 | $9.64 | -3.07% | -1.48% | 1.00% |
| UNG | United States Natural Gas Fund | Natural Gas | $571.74 | $22.99 | -2.75% | -1.42% | 1.12% |
| UNL | United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund | Natural Gas | $8.26 | $9.12 | -1.92% | -0.64% | 0.90% |
This week’s list of worst performing commodity-based ETFs found a sugar ETF in the top spot as a rising U.S. dollar and low demand hurt prices. Two natural gas ETFs rounded out the list this week following weakness carried over from last week.
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.
