Fiona Boal
Head of Commodities and Real Assets, S&P Dow Jones Indices
Commodities Take a Break over the Northern Hemisphere Summer
The S&P GSCI fell 2.7% in August; renewed strength in agricultural commodities and the continued rally in natural gas were not sufficient to overcome a late-month decline in oil prices. After eight months, the benchmark commodities index is 32% higher YTD, defying higher interest rates and growing fears of a prolonged global economic slowdown. The…
Ship Ahoy: Introducing the S&P GSCI Freight Indices
On Aug. 1, 2022, S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) launched a series of S&P GSCI Freight Indices, the first of their kind in the market and an expansion of the single-commodity offering of indices based on the S&P GSCI. The S&P GSCI Freight Indices are designed to provide reliable and publicly available performance benchmarks…
Commodities Hit the Brakes in June
The prospect of higher interest rates, fears of a prolonged global economic slowdown and a strong U.S. dollar put the brakes on commodities prices in June. The S&P GSCI, the broad commodities benchmark, ended the month down 7.6%, taking YTD performance to 35.8%, still the best first half performance since 2008. The deteriorating economic outlook…
Food and Energy Inflation Concerns Drive Commodities Higher in May
Record inflation prints, export embargos and import bans helped the S&P GSCI, the broad commodities benchmark, to post another monthly gain in May, ending the month up 5.1% and bringing its YTD performance to 47.0%. The ongoing disruptions to the flow of energy and agricultural commodities out of Ukraine and Russia pushed energy and grain…
- Categories Commodities
- Tags agriculture, commodities, energy, May Commodities Performance, nickel, S&P GSCI, wheat
- Categories
- Commodities
Going Electric: Introducing the S&P GSCI Electric Vehicle Metals
As the world has begun to focus on new technology to aid in the global energy transition, electric vehicles (EV) are becoming more a part of everyday life. S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) has collaborated with S&P Global Commodity Insights (SPGCI) to launch the S&P GSCI Electric Vehicle Metals, which seeks to track the…
Commodities React to Conflict
Military and economic warfare rocked the financial markets in late February. Beyond the unthinkable human impact, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has had sizeable short- and long-term implications for commodities markets. The S&P GSCI ended the month up 8.8%, driven higher by fears over the continuity of energy supplies in Europe, the dominance of Russia as a…
- Categories Commodities
- Tags agriculture, brent crude, commodities, gold, industrial metals, nickel, Palladium, S&P GSCI
- Categories
- Commodities
Commodities on the Front Foot in January
The strong inflation tailwind that supported commodities in 2021 has bled into 2022, as the S&P GSCI started the year on the front foot, up 11.6% in January. In contrast, the S&P 500® fell 5.2% over the same period. Inflation has traditionally helped commodity markets. Commodities have also historically been a good hedge against inflation….
Energy Markets Tumble in November
The S&P GSCI, the broad commodities benchmark, declined 10.8% over the month. The poor performance was driven almost exclusively by a major correction in energy prices, as the discovery of the Omicron COVID-19 variant cast a lengthening shadow over demand growth, added further complications to global supply chains, and dampened economic growth forecasts. The release…
Stretched Supply Chains Spur Commodities Prices Higher
The S&P GSCI, the broad commodities benchmark, rallied 5.8% in October. Performance was solid across sectors, with energy-related commodities continuing to outperform and grains and metals regaining some of their recent weakness. With two months of the year remaining, the S&P GSCI is up 46.3% YTD, the index’s best performance over the first 10 months…
Sparks Are Flying in the Energy Complex
The broad-based S&P GSCI started Q4 2021 off with a bang; as of October 5 it was up 3.9% for the month and 44% YTD. The spot version of the index has reached its highest level since October 2014. Natural gas and the petroleum complex have continued their dominance of the commodity charts, filling out…
- Categories Commodities
- Tags brent crude, commodities, electricity, energy, gas, natural gas, real assets, S&P GSCI
- Categories
- Commodities