Can Commodity ETFs Hedge Your Everyday Expenses?
Although the concept of “hedging” has been stretched, abused, and otherwise manipulated over the years, it is nevertheless a very important process for many companies. Commodity producers use forwards and futures contracts to help ensure a certain level of cash flow, and corporate commodity consumers use hedging to help control costs. So here’s a thought – can regular people use commodity investment products like ETFs to hedge some of their everyday costs of living?
Panic, Drought, Massive Gains For The Grains
It is no secret that grain prices have been soaring as a number of savvy commodity investors have been cashing in on the latest trend to take the world of hard assets. Many are also aware that a nation-wide drought has been the culprit of said price rises. But while the drought has been widely covered, few realize just how severe it has been. For starters, the trailing 12 months have been the hottest on record for the U.S. since records have been kept (dating back to 1895). Combine that with the lack of rain in the past few months and you have the worst drought seen in nearly 70 years, putting a major pinch on the prices of a number popular commodities [see also Five ETFs To Own During The Next Market Collapse].
The 5 Minute Guide to Nickel ETFs
Nickel has been used for thousands of years, but it was not classified as a chemical element until 1751. With an atomic number of 28, nickel appears as Ni on the periodic table in the wide central block that holds the transition metals, most of which are moderately hard, structurally sound metals. Nickel has catalytic properties and alloys readily, resists oxidation and corrosion, and is ductile, magnetic at room temperature, can be deposited by electroplating, and has a high melting point [for more commodity information and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
