Marya Alsati
Former Product Manager, Commodities, Home Prices, and Real Assets, S&P Dow Jones Indices
The Future of Iron Ore Indices
On Nov. 26, 2018, S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) launched the S&P GSCI Iron Ore and the S&P GSCI Industrial Metals & Iron Ore Equal Weight to provide investors exposure to one of the most important industrial commodities in the world. Iron ore is the second-largest commodity market by value after crude oil and…
- Categories Commodities
- Tags China, commodities, GSCI, industrial metals, iron ore, steel
- Categories
- Commodities
Exploring Commodity Equity and Futures
In April 2017, S&P Dow Jones Indices launched the S&P GSCI Dynamic Roll Reduced Energy 70/30 Futures/Equity Blend. This index is designed to measure the performance of a multi-asset allocation strategy that consists of a futures-based commodities index and an equity index that is based on various commodity-related GICS® subsectors. The futures portion is represented…
Q2 Commodity Performance and the Notable Spread Between Brent and WTI Crude
The S&P GSCI was up 8.0% for the Q2 2018, with agriculture being the worst-performing sector in the index, and energy the best (see Exhibit 1). Of the 24 commodities tracked by the index, 14 finished the quarter on a positive note. Soybeans was the worst-performing commodity in the index, and Brent crude was the…
- Categories Commodities
- Tags brent crude, commodities, June commodities, oil, Q2 commodities, S&P GSCI, WTI
- Categories
- Commodities
Livestock: A Drag on Commodities
The S&P GSCI was up 1.5% for the month and up 8.9% YTD. Precious metals was the worst-performing commodity, while livestock was the best. Of the 24 commodities tracked by the index, 18 were positive in May. Nickel was the best-performing commodity for the month, while cocoa was the worst. The S&P GSCI Agriculture was…
The Effects of U.S. Regulation on the S&P GSCI Biofuel
On July 9, 2007, S&P Dow Jones Indices launched the S&P GSCI Biofuel, which aims to provide market participants with a reliable and publicly available benchmark for investment performance in the feedstock commodities used in the production of biofuels. The index includes Chicago wheat, corn, soybean oil, and sugar. Biofuels are produced utilizing biological processes,…
- Categories Commodities
- Tags S&P GSCI, S&P GSCI Biofuel
- Categories
- Commodities
Energy Stays on Top in April
The Dow Jones Commodity Index (DJCI) was up 2.9% for April 2018 and up 3.7% YTD, while the S&P GSCI was up 5.0% for the month and 7.3% YTD. Precious metals was the worst-performing sector in the indices and energy was the best. Exhibit 1 depicts the month-to-date and YTD performance of the sector indices…
- Categories Commodities
- Tags April performance, commodities, DJCI, energy, S&P GSCI
- Categories
- Commodities
Palladium, More Precious Than Silver, Platinum, and Gold
On March 5, 2018, S&P Dow Jones Indices launched the S&P GSCI Precious Metals, Platinum & Palladium Equal Weight to provide market participants with a reliable and publicly available benchmark for investment performance in the gold, palladium, platinum, and silver commodity markets. The index is equally weighted on a quarterly basis. What is the added…
Commodities Are Like a Box of Chocolates, if You Only Factor in Interest Rates and the U.S. Dollar
The Dow Jones Commodity Index (DJCI) was down 1.9% for the month and up 0.7% YTD, and the S&P GSCI was down 3.3% and flat YTD. Energy was the worst-performing sector, while agriculture was the best. Of the 24 commodities tracked by the indices, 14 were negative in February. Cocoa was the best-performing commodity for…
Crude Oil: On Production, Performance, and Roll Yield
In November 2017, according to the Energy Information Administration, U.S. crude oil production surpassed 10 million barrels per day for the first time since November 1970. After 1970, it began to decline, dropping bellow 7 million barrels per day in February 1993, below 6 million barrels in March 1999, and then remaining at that level…
- Categories Commodities
- Tags commodity futures, crude oil, Crude Oil Production, S&P GSCI Crude Oil
- Categories
- Commodities
What a Portfolio Might Look Like After Adding a Pinch of Real Assets
In December 2015, S&P Dow Jones Indices launched the S&P Real Assets Index, the first index of its kind, which is designed to measure global property, infrastructure, commodities, and inflation-linked bonds, using liquid and investable component indices that track public equities, fixed income, and futures. The S&P Real Assets Index includes global infrastructure (35%), property…