Commodities in Focus Amid Russia Sanction Battle

The last few months have primarily focused on the tensions between Russia and Ukraine, and the violent conflict has escalated in recent weeks. Now, the U.S. and European Union are imposing various sanctions on Russia in an effort to get President Vladimir Putin to play ball. These actions have yet to affect the European nation. Instead, Putin has retaliated with sanctions of his own, creating something of a legislative battle, potentially creating major headwinds for certain commodities [for more commodity news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].

Posted in Agriculture, Cotton, Energy, Livestock, Natural Gas, Soybeans | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Backwardation Report: A Mixed Bag

Last week, we gave investors our first contango report for 2014, noting that precious metals are facing upward curves for the foreseeable future. This week, we’re bringing you the first backwardation report of the year. For those unfamiliar with this term, backwardation is the process whereby near month futures are more expensive than those expiring further into the future, creating a downward sloping curve for future prices over time – put simply, it’s the opposite of contango [for more commodity news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].

Posted in Agriculture, Brent Oil, Commodity Futures, Copper, Energy, Industrial Metals, Soybeans, WTI | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Soybeans Soar, Creating Trading Opportunity

The summer of 2013 has been notably cooler than the scorcher that 2012 brought, but August saw the heat turned up on the U.S., having a marked impact on a number of commodities. Soybeans, in particular, have seen their prices spike, as the hot and dry weather of the last few weeks has taken its toll. The run higher could throw a wrench in the commodity’s standard cycle, making it all the more difficult to trade [for more soybeans news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].

Posted in Agriculture, Commodity ETFs, Commodity Futures, Commodity Producers, Soybeans | Tagged , | Leave a comment

U.S. Heatwave Draws Comparisons to 2012

Déjà vu all over again. It was about this time last year that much of the U.S. was engulfed in a crushing heatwave that injected a fair amount of volatility into the commodity world; namely in the agriculture markets. With the U.S. dominating the production of a number of big name crops, the recent heatwave has caught the attention of a number investors looking to cash in on the trend [for more agricultural commodity news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].

Posted in Agriculture, Corn, News and Current Events, Soybeans, Wheat | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Soybean Prices Set To Simmer

With applications in oils, animal feed and in our own meals, soybeans have become a staple crop in the U.S. and many other nations. While soybeans are originally from Southeast Asia, with Chinese farmers among the first to domesticate the crop, the U.S. currently both produces and exports more than any country in the world. But holding the majority of the world’s supply of this legume has made the U.S. extremely vulnerable to a new trend that looks to have a big impact on the commodity’s price [for more commodity news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].

Posted in Actionable Ideas, Agriculture, Asset Allocation, Commodity ETFs, Commodity Futures, Soybeans | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

3 Commodity Investments To Profit From Population Growth

One of the most talked-about global trends in recent years has been the rapid growth in population. As emerging markets around the world enter periods of robust growth, their populations have also been on the rise. Though a growing worldwide population will certainly cause a number of issues, it will also present commodity investors with a fair amount of opportunities, as some hard assets represent a great way to profit from the current trend [for more commodity news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].

Posted in Actionable Ideas, Agriculture, Alternative Energy, Asset Allocation, Commodity ETFs, Commodity Producers, commodityHQ.edu, Corn, Energy, Natural Gas, Soybeans, WTI | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Backwardation Report: Energy And Grains Face Falling Curves

Backwardation and contango are two phenomena that define the futures industry of the commodity world. Though the terms have come handcuffed with a negative connotation, those who understand how they work should not sweat their existence. Backwardation is the process by which near month futures are more expensive than those expiring further into the future, creating a downward sloping curve for future prices over time. Contango, simply, has the opposite impact [for more commodity news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].

Posted in Agriculture, Brent Oil, Commodity Futures, Energy, Soybeans, WTI | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The 5 Best Commodities of 2012

Another year has come to an end, and another 12-month stretch of frantic commodity trading can go in the books. As is par for the course, this year saw a number of big movers throughout the space, as these assets maintained their reputation for general volatility. This year saw its share of winners and losers, as a number of macroeconomic factors combined to guide the commodity space to the finish line. Below, we outline the five commodities that outperformed their competition in 2012 [for more commodity news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].

Posted in Agriculture, Asset Allocation, Commodity Futures, Corn, Energy, Gasoline, Lumber, Platinum, Precious Metals, Soybeans | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

The Best Agriculture ETFs of 2012

It was a pretty hectic year for agricultural commodities as the summer months wreaked havoc on prices. After the United States endured the hottest 12-month span on record and an abysmal drought, a number of these staple commodities experienced big movements in price and trading volume alike. But now that 2012 is nearing its close, we look back at these funds throughout the course of the year to see which funds outperformed the rest [for more agriculture news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].

Posted in Agriculture, Commodity ETF Analysis, Commodity ETFs, Soybeans, Wheat | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Surging Demographic Trends Behind Grain Investing

One of the driving forces behind commodity investing has been the exponential increase in the human population, as demand for these products continues to grow at an alarming rate. Among these commodities, grains are perhaps the most essential, as they are the staple of food products all over the world. Food commodities enjoy relatively inelastic demand; a demand that has been rapidly growing alongside the global population [for more grains news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].

Posted in Academic Research, Actionable Ideas, Agriculture, Asset Allocation, Commodity ETFs, Corn, Soybeans, Wheat | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments
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