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 February 7th to February 15th.
- Crude oil prices rebounded this week on higher demand and a drop in the value of the U.S. dollar.
- Gold prices climbed this week as the U.S. dollar fell and inflation began to spike.
- Profit-taking activity led to lower prices for agricultural commodities like wheat, corn and soybeans.
- Be sure to check our previous edition to keep in touch with events impacting the the global commodities market.
Weekly Market Wrap-up
Energy – Crude oil prices rebounded this week on the back of a weak U.S. dollar, while natural gas prices rose on positive storage data.
- Oil – A weak dollar helped crude oil prices to trade at $61.86 per barrel by the close of this week.
- Natural Gas – Bullish weekly storage data helped lift natural gas futures to $2.603 per million British thermal units this week.
- Gasoline – The U.S. national average for the price of a gallon of gasoline fell to $2.54 this week, following last week’s rise in oil inventories.
Metals – A weaker U.S. dollar and rising bond yields helped lift copper prices to a 10-day high of $7,180.50 a ton.
- Precious Metals – Gold prices hit a three-and-a-half-week high of $1,361.1 a troy ounce on rising bond yields and a drop in the value of the U.S. dollar.
- Other – Palladium prices jumped this week to $1,015 an ounce on higher global automotive demand.
Grains – Wheat prices traded at $4.58-3/4 per bushel this week following several days of profit-taking.
- Corn and Soybeans – Profit-taking activity in corn and soybeans offset concerns about dry weather conditions in Argentina this week.
Softs – Cocoa futures touched a three-month high of $2,145 a ton earlier this week, before dropping on profit-taking 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 February 15th) | 52-Week Price Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copper | 7.70% | 03/18/18 | $3.26 | $2.47 - $3.29 |
| Platinum | 4.80% | 04/18/18 | $1,014.80 | $872.65 - $1,047.70 |
| Crude Oil WTI | 4.41% | 03/18/18 | $61.86 | $42.05 - $66.66 |
This week’s best-commodity performer was copper, as a struggling U.S. dollar and spiking bond yields helped spur demand. Platinum prices rose along the same lines as well, while crude oil prices rose following several weeks of mixed inventory data.
Weekly Commodity ETF Movers
For ETF investors, we tracked the top three biggest gainers and top three biggest losers for the past week. Not included are ETN’s, which behave differently than ETF’s, as well as leveraged ETF’s which may not be suitable for some investors. Some ETF’s that have less than one year on the market have been excluded due to lack of long term data.
Top Three ETF Winners This Week
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($MM) | NAV (as of February 15th) | Return (weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PALL | ETFS Physical Palladium Shares | Palladium | $231.70 | $97.17 | 6.20% | -4.31% | 0.60% |
| CPER | United States Copper Index Fund | Copper | $14.51 | $20.70 | 5.50% | -1.70% | 0.80% |
| USAG | United States Agriculture Index Fund | Agriculture | $1.78 | $17.38 | 4.70% | 5.27% | 0.80% |
This week’s list of best-performing commodity-based ETFs found a palladium fund in the top spot as automotive demand held strong. A fall in the value of the dollar helped copper rise, while a general agriculture fund rounded out the third spot in our list.
Top Three ETF Losers This Week
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($MM) | NAV (as of February 15th) | Return (weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNG | United States Natural Gas Fund | Natural Gas | $429.74 | $21.87 | -3.83% | -6.22% | 1.12% |
| UNL | United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund | Natural Gas | $7.18 | $8.98 | -1.86% | -2.18% | 0.90% |
| CANE | Teucrium Sugar | Sugar | $7.14 | $8.90 | -1.44% | -9.00% | 1.00% |
This week’s list of worst-performing commodity-based ETFs has two natural gas funds leading the way, following last week’s drop in demand. A sugar fund also fared poorly as investors took profits this 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.
