COVID-19 continued to wreak havoc across commodities markets in April. The S&P GSCI fell 9.67% in April and 47.92% YTD. Economic data continued to weaken into uncharted territory. Supply chains crucial to the flow of commodities from extraction to consumption experienced a sudden shut off and demand collapsed. Energy and agriculture underperformed, while metals offered Read more […]
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 […]
If you buy a little extra chocolate this year for your Valentine, your wallet will be as happy as your sweetheart. The S&P GSCI Cocoa is at its lowest level (closing Feb. 10, 2017) since Nov. 13, 2008. It is down 31.3% since last year and is the single commodity with the biggest loss in Read more […]
Commodities have faced many headwinds this year from the strong U.S. dollar, high supply from OPEC and the slowing Chinese demand growth. The S&P GSCI Total Return hit a 15 year low in August, 23 of 24 commodities dropped in July and the 3rd quarter was the 3rd worst in history. For the year, all sectors are negative and Read more […]
I fear the risk premium for agriculture and livestock may vanish sometime soon as climate change and El Nino drive up food prices. When investing in commodities as an asset class there are five components of return to be earned by using futures. While each component’s contribution to performance varies through time depending on the Read more […]
Perception might be that lovers everywhere have always enjoyed the confection of affection, chocolate. However, it has taken some time for many Asian countries to adopt the taste, but it seems now they have fallen in love. The Singapore-based Cocoa Association of Asia said that in the fourth quarter of 2013 demand rose 10% from Asia including Malaysia, Singapore Read more […]
Happy Chinese New Year for all celebrating! As a special tribute, this post will focus on the fact that all 5 commodities that start with the letter “c” (the same letter China starts with) in the S&P GSCI Agriculture and Livestock have had positive returns in 2014. I picked the agriculture and livestock to symbolize the importance Read more […]
Despite another year of flat performance from the S&P GSCI, it was a roller-coaster year with energy holding up the broad index while gold had its worst year since 1981. Below are the top 13 stories from 2013: 13. Risky Assets, Safe Havens or Lost Identities? All commodities in the S&P GSCI and the DJ-UBS Read more […]
Hear the impact of the Syrian tension on oil and why the effect on copper might be different than in historical wars. The S&P GSCI® and Dow Jones UBS Commodity Index both fell in September, returning -3.4% and -2.6%, respectively. Some highlights from the S&P GSCI® include: Energy: Despite losing 4.5% on the month, S&P Read more […]
Sorry, grains and meats, you are not one of the four main food groups. Since this is the case, eating may have just become more expensive, especially for the high-end chocolate lover. Not me of course… but once again, as a commodity lady, when I consume goods (or goodies) and notice that prices are increasing Read more […]
