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 21st to March 1st.
- Gold prices traded at a three-week low as a strong U.S. dollar put pressure on the precious metal.
- Natural gas futures pulled back this week as warmer weather conditions tapered demand.
- Poor crop conditions helped U.S. wheat prices spike this week along with U.S. corn and soybeans.
- Be sure to go over our previous edition to be aware of the events in the global commodities space.
Weekly Market Wrap-up
Energy – Crude oil prices held steady this week against a rising U.S. dollar while natural gas futures dropped on warmer weather expectations.
- Oil –Crude oil prices held flat for the week trading at $61.74 per barrel as continued strength in the U.S. dollar kept prices in check.
- Natural Gas – Natural gas futures traded lower for the week at $2.65 per million British thermal units on warmer weather expectations.
- Gasoline – The national average for gasoline prices ticked slightly higher this week to $2.54 per gallon as refiners get ready for higher spring demand.
Metals – Copper prices tumbled this week to $3.11 after weak Chinese PMI data revealed weakness in the economy.
- Precious Metals – Gold prices touched a three-week low of $1,306.50 per ounce as a strong U.S. dollar put pressure on gold values.
- Other – Chinese pollution curbs are helping iron ore and steel prices climb higher with steel hitting a year-to-date high earlier in the week.
Grains –May wheat futures climbed to $4.95 on bullish speculation and poor crop conditions this week.
- Corn and Soybeans – Dry weather concerns in Argentina helped lift both corn and soybean prices this week.
Softs – Strong U.S. export data helped U.S. cotton prices jump higher this week.
If you are wondering which commodity might be 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 March 1st) | 52-Week Price Change |
---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. Wheat | 8.82% | 05/18/18 | $490.00 | $400.25 - $574.25 |
U.S. Cotton | 4.13% | 05/18/18 | $82.87 | $66.16 - $87.18 |
U.S. Corn | 3.48% | 05/18/18 | $379.75 | $328.5 - $394.5 |
This week’s top commodity performers were all agricultural commodities, with U.S. wheat taking the number one spot as poor crop conditions sparked a wave of bullish speculation. U.S. cotton climbed higher on strong U.S. export data while U.S. corn prices jumped on concerns of dry weather conditions in Argentina.
Weekly Commodity ETF Movers
For ETF investors, we tracked the top three biggest gainers and top three biggest losers for the past week. Not included are ETN’s, which behave differently than ETF’s, as well as leveraged ETF’s which may not be suitable for some investors. Some ETF’s that have less than one year on the market have been excluded due to lack of long term data.
Top Three ETF Winners This Week
ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($MM) | NAV (as of March 1st) | Return (Weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
WEAT | Teucrium Wheat | Wheat | $70.84 | $6.67 | 6.38% | 11.17% | 1.00% |
TAGS | Teucrium Agricultural Fund | Agriculture | $1.17 | $23.66 | 4.23% | 7.06% | 1.00% |
PALL | ETFS Physical Palladium Shares | Palladium | $252.81 | $99.42 | 2.18% | -2.10% | 0.60% |
This week’s best performing commodity-based ETFs were largely agricultural with a wheat fund outperforming the most as poor crop conditions fueled speculation. A palladium fund rose as well on higher global auto demand.
Top Three ETF Losers This Week
ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($MM) | NAV (as of March 1st) | Return (Weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CPER | United States Copper Index Fund | Copper | $13.96 | $19.96 | -2.63% | -5.22% | 0.80% |
DBB | PowerShares DB Base Metals Fund | Base metals | $357.79 | $19.03 | -2.56% | -1.96% | 0.75% |
DBS | PowerShares DB Silver Fund | Silver | $20.12 | $25.08 | -1.38% | -3.65% | 0.75% |
This week’s worst performing commodity-based ETFs were all metal funds. A copper fund was the worst performer this week as negative Chinese PMI data hurt copper prices. A silver fund fell as well following the weakness in precious metals against a strong U.S. dollar.
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.