
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 17th to January 24th.
- Crude oil prices moved above $65 per barrel this week for the first time since December 2014.
- A fall in the value of the U.S. dollar helped lift gold prices this week to nearly $1,360 a troy ounce
- Natural gas prices jumped to a 13-month high as colder winter weather expectations drove demand.
- Be sure to read our previous edition to keep track of events in the global commodities space.
Weekly Market Wrap-up
Energy – Another fall in U.S. production helped crude oil prices climb to $65.97 per barrel, while natural gas prices rose on colder weather expectations.
- Oil – Crude oil prices soared to $65.97 per barrel this week as U.S. production fell for the 10th consecutive week, offsetting a smaller global increase in production.
- Natural Gas – Natural gas prices hit a 13-month high on colder weather expectations with prices as high as $3.579 per million British thermal units.
- Gasoline – Average U.S. gasoline prices remained flat this week at $2.54 per gallon, although several states saw an increase from last week.
Metals – Copper prices hit a one-month low of $6,885 a ton as inventories climbed to a 10-month high.
- Precious Metals – A drop in the U.S. dollar triggered a rise in gold prices to $1,359.10 a troy ounce this week.
- Other – Iron ore prices dropped this week as Chinese port stockpiles hit a record high.
Grains – Wheat prices edged higher to $4.34 supported by a fall in the value of the U.S. dollar this week.
- Corn and Soybeans – Soybean futures climbed to $9.93 this week on dry weather conditions in South America.
Softs – Cotton prices held flat this week as strong demand was offset by technical trading activity.
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 24th) | 52 week price change |
---|---|---|---|---|
Natural Gas | 6.47% | 02/18/18 | $3.44 | $2.52 - $3.62 |
Crude Oil WTI | 3.20% | 03/18/18 | $65.97 | $42.05 – 65.97 |
Silver | 3.11% | 03/18/18 | $17.57 | $15.14 - $18.72 |
This week’s top commodity performer was natural gas as colder winter weather conditions were anticipated for next week. Crude oil was the number two performer for the week as the commodity moved to a level not seen since 2014, while silver tracked higher on a falling U.S. dollar.
Weekly Commodity ETF Movers
For ETF investors, we tracked the top three biggest gainers and top three biggest losers for the past week. Not included are ETN’s, which behave differently than ETF’s, as well as leveraged ETF’s which may not be suitable for some investors. Some ETF’s that have less than one year on the market have been excluded due to lack of long term data.
Top Three ETF Winners This Week
ETF ticker | ETF name | Commodity category | Assets ($MM) | NAV (as of January 24th) | Return (weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense ratio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UNG | United States Natural Gas Fund | Natural Gas | $479.76 | $25.94 | 5.45% | 11.23% | 1.12% |
UGA | United States Gasoline Fund | Gasoline | $47.38 | $33.90 | 3.35% | 6.44% | 0.75% |
UNL | United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund | Natural Gas | $8.64 | $9.59 | 2.62% | 4.47% | 0.90% |
This week’s top performing commodity-based ETFs were mostly natural gas ETFs as prices rose on colder winter weather forecasts. A gasoline ETF was also one of the week’s best performers as several states saw the price of gas increase despite the national average remaining flat from last week.
Top Three ETF Losers This Week
ETF Tticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($MM) | NAV (as of January 24th) | Return (weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CPER | United States Copper Index Fund | Copper | $13.92 | $19.94 | -2.75% | -5.29% | 0.80% |
CANE | Teucrium Sugar Fund | Sugar | $6.01 | $8.91 | -2.30% | -8.90% | 1.00% |
SLV | iShares Silver Trust | Silver | $5,350.42 | $16.08 | -1.05% | 0.56% | 0.50% |
This week’s worst-performing commodity-based ETFs were mostly metal funds driven lower by increased inventories and slowing demand. Sugar slumped as well on technical selling activity and soft demand.
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.