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 April 18th to April 25th.
- Crude and Brent oil prices rose again this week on dwindling oil inventories.
- Gold prices fell sharply this week amidst a rising U.S. dollar and bond yields.
- Relaxed sanctions against United Co. RUSAL helped lift copper and aluminum prices this week as investors became more bullish on metals.
- Be sure to read our previous edition to be in touch with trends in the global commodity space.
Weekly Market Wrap-up
Energy – Oil prices rose this week on falling inventories while natural gas prices surged ahead on bullish speculation.
- Oil – Declining inventories helped lift both crude oil to $67.91 per barrel and Brent oil to $73.86 per barrel this week.
- Natural Gas – Bullish speculation and higher demand helped natural gas prices rally to $2.80 per million British thermal units this week.
- Gasoline –The average price for a gallon of gas in the U.S. continued to rise this week, hitting $2.79 on record highs for April.
Metals – Aluminum prices wrapped up a four-day sell-off to end the week as the U.S. reined in sanctions against United Co. RUSAL.
- Precious Metals – A sharp rise in the value of the U.S. dollar and rising bond yields dragged gold prices lower for the week to $1,326.20 per ounce.
- Other – Copper prices rose this week on news of the U.S. relaxing sanctions on United Co. RUSAL with prices hitting $3.14 per pound.
Grains – Wheat prices fell early this week but rebounded to $4.86-3/4 per bushel on positive weather reports.
- Corn and Soybeans – Soybeans continued to show strength this week, rising to $10.38-3/4 per bushel on high demand outlook.
Softs – U.S. coffee prices have been struggling against large short positions and oversupply but bounced higher this week on short covering 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 April 25th) | 52-Week Price Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Coffee | 3.24% | 07/18/18 | $118.58 | $113 - $143.75 |
| Natural Gas | 2.23% | 06/18/18 | $2.80 | $2.53 - $3.6 |
| Heating Oil | 1.66% | 05/18/18 | $2.13 | $1.35 - $2.15 |
This week’s list of best performing commodities were mixed with U.S. coffee prices jumping more than 3% on short covering activity. Natural gas prices rose higher on bullish speculation while heating oil trended higher along with a broad rise in oil prices.
Weekly Commodity ETF Movers
For ETF investors, we tracked the top three biggest gainers and top three biggest losers for the past week. Not included are ETN’s, which behave differently than ETF’s, as well as leveraged ETF’s which may not be suitable for some investors. Some ETF’s that have less than one year on the market have been excluded due to lack of long term data.
Top Three ETF Winners This Week
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($MM) | NAV (as of April 25th) | Return (Weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UHN | United States Diesel-Heating Oil Fund | Heating oil | $8.02 | $20.23 | 4.44% | 4.60% | 0.75% |
| BNO | United States Brent Oil Fund | Brent oil | $94.61 | $20.38 | 3.24% | 12.60% | 0.90% |
| UGA | United States Gasoline Fund | Gasoline | $45.19 | $33.40 | 2.47% | 4.87% | 0.75% |
This week’s list of best performing commodity-based ETFs had a lot in common being related to the oil and gas industry. The top fund this week was a heating oil fund following along with the broad rise in oil prices. A Brent oil fund and a gasoline fund rose as well with gas prices hitting a record high for April.
Top Three ETF Losers This Week
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | Commodity Category | Assets ($MM) | NAV (as of April 25th) | Return (Weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PALL | ETFS Physical Palladium Shares | Palladium | $214.65 | $92.76 | -3.89% | -8.66% | 0.60% |
| CANE | Teucrium Sugar | Sugar | $10.16 | $7.54 | -3.83% | -22.90% | 1.00% |
| TAGS | Teucrium Agricultural Fund | Agriculture | $1.67 | $22.33 | -2.91% | 1.04% | 1.00% |
This week’s list of worst performing commodity-based ETFs were led by a palladium fund as investors cooled off after several weeks of bullish activity. A sugar fund and broad agricultural fund fell as well amidst a rising 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.
