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 May 30th to June 6th.
- Crude oil prices dropped again this week as inventories continue to rise more than expected.
- Supply concerns in Chile along with a drop in the U.S. dollar helped copper prices gain this week.
- U.S. wheat prices gained ground this week on dry weather conditions and global supply issues.
- Be sure to read our previous edition to keep in touch with the changing trends in the global commodities space.
Weekly Market Wrap-up
Energy – Crude oil prices dropped again this week on rising inventories while natural gas prices held mostly flat, ticking up only $0.02 on investors’ speculation.
- Oil – A surprise increase in U.S. oil supplies dragged prices lower for the week with crude oil trading at $64.73 per barrel.
- Natural Gas – Natural gas prices rose slightly to $2.90 per million British thermal units as investors looked ahead to this week’s inventory report.
- Gasoline – The national average for gasoline prices in the U.S. ticked lower this week to $2.94 per gallon, marking the first drop in three months.
Metals – Copper prices jumped to a three-month high of $3.27 this week on Chilean supply concerns.
- Precious Metals – Rising bond yields continued to hurt gold prices this week, which dipped slightly to $1,300.20 per troy ounce.
- Other – A dip in the value of the U.S. dollar helped boost silver prices this week, which managed to outpace gold trading at $16.69 per ounce.
Grains – Dry weather and global supply concerns helped lift U.S. wheat prices this week to $5.26 per bushel.
- Corn and Soybeans – Crop delays and dry weather conditions were responsible for lifting both corn and soybean prices this week to $4.03 and $10.21, respectively.
Softs – A spike in bullish trading activity helped lift cotton prices this week despite a lack of strong fundamental support.
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 June 6th) | 52 week price change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copper | 6.87% | 07/18/18 | $3.27 | $2.54 - $3.29 |
| Silver | 1.82% | 07/18/18 | $16.69 | $15.15 - $18.16 |
| U.S. Wheat | 0.29% | 07/18/18 | $525.50 | $400.75 - $574.25 |
Copper led this week’s list of best-performing commodities as supply concerns stemming from Chile helped boost prices. Silver prices gained on a drop in the value of the U.S. dollar while U.S. wheat prices jumped on crop planting delays and dry weather conditions.
Weekly Commodity ETF Movers
For ETF investors, we tracked the top three biggest gainers and top three biggest losers for the past week. Not included are ETN’s, which behave differently than ETF’s, as well as leveraged ETF’s which may not be suitable for some investors. Some ETF’s that have less than one year on the market have been excluded due to lack of long-term data.
Top Three ETF Winners This Week
| ETF ticker | ETF name | Commodity category | Assets ($MM) | NAV (as of June 6th) | Return (weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPER | United States Copper Index Fund | Copper | $11.16 | $20.78 | 6.29% | -1.32% | 0.80% |
| PALL | ETFS Physical Palladium Shares | Palladium | $158.27 | $96.92 | 3.36% | -4.56% | 0.60% |
| DBB | Invesco DB Base Metals Fund | Metals | $353.61 | $19.40 | 3.30% | -0.05% | 0.75% |
This week’s list of best performing commodity-based ETFs were all metal funds with copper and palladium taking the number one and two spots. A copper fund jumped on Chilean supply delays and a decline in the U.S. dollar while a palladium fund rose on higher automotive demand. A broad metals fund rounded out this week’s list.
Top Three ETF Losers This Week
| ETF ticker | ETF name | Commodity category | Assets ($MM) | NAV (as of June 6th) | Return (weekly %) | Return (YTD %) | Expense ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UGA | United States Gasoline Fund | Gasoline | $48.81 | $33.22 | -4.90% | 4.30% | 0.75% |
| USO | United States Oil Fund | Oil | $1,885.69 | $13.16 | -4.84% | 9.58% | 0.77% |
| UHN | United States Diesel-Heating Oil Fund | Diesel-Heating Oil | $7.12 | $20.32 | -3.74% | 5.07% | 0.75% |
Energy funds topped this week’s list of worst-performing commodity-based ETFs as gasoline prices took the top spot on heavy selling activity after gasoline marked the first drop in prices in three months. An oil fund fell on bearish inventory data while a heating oil fund followed oil’s path downward.
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.
