Jim Wiederhold
Associate Director, Commodities and Real Assets, S&P Dow Jones Indices
Reductions in Risk Caused Disparate Returns for Commodities in April
Another higher inflation reading helped the S&P GSCI, the broad commodities benchmark, to post an additional 5.1% gain in April. Many market participants realized the U.S. Fed may be behind the curve and have started allocating capital to commodities in 2022. Agriculture and energy continued to outperform last month, while metals and livestock underperformed. Among…
- Categories Commodities
- Tags agriculture, aluminum, commodities, copper, corn, energy, gold, heating oil, industrial metals, livestock, natural gas, precious metals, S&P GSCI, S&P GSCI Agriculture, S&P GSCI Energy, S&P GSCI Industrial Metals, S&P GSCI Livestock, S&P GSCI Soybean Oil, soybean oil, SP GSCI Corn
- Categories
- Commodities
Commodities Continued to March Higher Last Month
The S&P GSCI posted its best quarterly return in decades, as inflation continued to post the highest readings in decades. Commodities rose another 9.63% in March after an 8.8% rise in February. Geopolitical conflict and inflation were the two main reasons for the broad-based uptick in commodities prices (see Exhibit 1). The S&P GSCI Energy…
Inflation Is Here. A Multi-Asset Dynamic Hedging Strategy Is Also Here.
The S&P Multi-Asset Dynamic Inflation Strategy Index was launched in 2021 to offer a more dynamic, rotational approach to integrating inflation hedging than the typical static 5%-10% allocation to commodities. The index dynamically weights asset class constituents monthly based on the underlying inflation regime represented by the latest monthly U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) reading.1…
Any Volunteers? Transparency in Voluntary Carbon Markets
The S&P GSCI Nature-Based Global Emissions Offsets and the S&P GSCI Global Emissions Offsets are the first two indices launched by S&P DJI that are based on voluntary carbon markets. The first compliance-based index, the S&P GSCI Carbon Emissions Allowances (EUA) was launched two years ago and tracks the EUA futures based on the European…
Powering Up the European Energy Markets with the S&P GSCI Power Indices
On Feb. 21, 2022, S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) launched a series of S&P GSCI European Power Indices, the first indices 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 European Power Indices are designed to provide reliable and publicly…
Commodities Crushed It in 2021
The market standard commodities benchmark, the S&P GSCI, crushed it in 2021, rising 40.35% and outpacing other similar commodity indices and asset classes, as high and rising inflation provided a great backdrop for this inflation-sensitive asset class. Commodities finished strong in December, rising 7.59% over the month as energy bounced back and Omicron COVID-19 variant…
Gold Demand in India Bounced Back in 2021
In 2020, pandemic-driven lockdowns in India caused gold demand to drop. So far in 2021, Indian demand for gold is 500 tons greater, even with two months left in the calendar year. China has been the primary destination for gold over the past few years and that continued this year, but a strong pickup in…
- Categories Commodities
- Tags 2021, China, commodities, gold, gold demand, gold imports, India
- Categories
- Commodities
Crypto versus Gold – The Store of Value Debate
In a blog post from earlier this year, I outlined comparisons between Bitcoin and gold. In this post, we’ll look at how the underlying investment theses for each asset have rapidly evolved this year. Prior to 2021, some market participants viewed Bitcoin as a form of digital gold, sharing many of the same use cases,…
The S&P GSCI Was Energized in September
The S&P GSCI, the broad commodities benchmark, rose in September by 6.0%. Energy-related commodities were the outperformers on the back of what may prove to be a lasting global energy supply crunch. Agriculture and metals were mostly lower over the month. Record natural gas and electricity prices in Europe, record coal prices in China, multi-year…
Commodities Rise with Inflation in July
The S&P GSCI rose for a fourth consecutive month, by 1.6% in July, as the main positive catalysts of 2021 remained in play. Many individual commodities constrained by supply chain bottlenecks and disruptions continued to be in deficit around the world. Half of the U.S. experienced drought conditions last month, compared to 25% this time…