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].
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].
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].
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].
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].
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].
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].
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].