Despite the largest one-day spike in oil prices since at least 1989, the broad commodities market only managed to climb modestly in September. The S&P GSCI was up 1.7% for the month and 8.6% YTD. The Dow Jones Commodity Index (DJCI) was up 1.4% in August and up 4.7% YTD. Rallies in the agriculture and Read more […]
The attacks on Sept. 14, 2019, on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities have put the oil market back in focus for investors and policy makers alike. The event was reported to have been the largest single supply disruption in the oil market for half a century, crippling half of Saudi oil production and temporarily halting production Read more […]
Over the past five years, the S&P GSCI Coffee underperformed the other soft commodities, as can be seen in Exhibit 1. Broad oversupply issues that have been seen in most commodities have been particularly pronounced in the coffee market. In addition to the major coffee-producing countries’ respective economic problems, these countries also generally suffer from Read more […]
Commodities markets struggled under the weight of an acceleration in trade tensions between the U.S. and China and growing evidence of a slowdown in global economic activity in August. The S&P GSCI was down 5.6% for the month but remained up 6.7% YTD. The Dow Jones Commodity Index (DJCI) was down 2.7% in August and Read more […]
Commodities markets hit the summer doldrums in July. The S&P GSCI was down 0.2% for the month and 13.1% YTD. The Dow Jones Commodity Index (DJCI) was down 0.8% in July and up 6.1% YTD, reflecting its lower energy weighting. Impressive rallies in nickel and silver markets were pitched against a slump in agriculture prices, Read more […]
Several catalysts, including U.S. Corn Belt production issues, drove corn futures prices to a new five-year high in June 2019. Investors were net short corn in May 2019, and the short covering contributed to the break higher. Prices broke through the 2017 peak after heavy floods in the Midwest prevented farmers from planting corn in Read more […]
Much has been made during recent months of the renewed interest investors have shown in gold on the back of growing financial market turbulence, a plethora of geopolitical flashpoints, and a string of economic releases that have fallen short of expectations. But gold has not been the shiniest precious metal this year; back in January, Read more […]
Commodities markets resumed their upward trajectory in June. The S&P GSCI was up 4.4% for the month and up 13.3% YTD. The Dow Jones Commodity Index (DJCI) was up 3.1% in June and up 6.9% YTD, reflecting its lower energy weighting. A recovery in petroleum prices and an impressive rally in gold were the main Read more […]
In 2018, the U.S. set world production records for both natural gas and oil.[1] The growth in production is expected to continue and the U.S. is set to become a net energy exporter[2] by 2020, ending a 75-year period of dependence on imports. The increase in energy production not only shifts the dynamics of the Read more […]
The S&P GSCI Iron Ore has been on a tear this year, up 72.47% YTD as of June 13, 2019, breaking through the previous high from May 22, 2019. It had by far the best YTD performance out of any of the commodities indices in the S&P GSCI Series. This bullish performance during the first Read more […]
