The commodities bull market party continued in April. The S&P GSCI was up 2.8% for the month and up 18.2% YTD. The Dow Jones Commodity Index (DJCI) was flat in April and up 7.6% YTD, reflecting its lower energy weighting. Petroleum prices, once again, were the standout drivers in the broad commodity index in April, Read more […]
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 Read more […]
Diversification is one of the main reasons investors use commodities in their portfolios. Despite the fact that in only 4 years since 1970 did commodities and equities drop in the same year (1981, 2001, 2008, 2011), investors lost confidence in commodities as a diversifier as the correlation spiked with equities after the crisis. That confidence is starting to Read more […]
In my last post, I introduced a series called “Weighing In:” that includes comparisons of the effectiveness of the Dow Jones Commodity Index (DJCI) and the S&P GSCI to reach certain portfolio goals. Although there are a number of reasons investors use commodities, diversification and inflation protection are the two most common. According to Blu Putnam, Managing Read more […]
According to farmers, doomsday predictions by climate scientists don’t matter. Doomsday already happened on June 26, 2011 – at least in Vega, Texas where temperatures reached 114 degrees Fahrenheit and winds were 40-50 mph. We speak about weather conditions as a driver of commodity prices on a regular basis. We discuss droughts, freezes, hurricanes and even ideal Read more […]
There could be no more symbolic time than just before the July 4th holiday for S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) to announce the Dow Jones Commodity Index (DJCI), an alternative to the former DJ-UBS. This is the first ever commodity index under the Dow Jones brand to be fully free from conflicts of interest, plus Read more […]
