Despite a rocky start and end to 2018 that negatively affected the performance of all the asset classes within the S&P MARC 5% Excess Return (ER) Index,[1] the index maintained a relatively stable performance throughout the year, although it ended the year in red. When you look at the asset classes in the S&P MARC Read more […]
On March 5, 2018, S&P Dow Jones Indices launched the S&P GSCI Precious Metals, Platinum & Palladium Equal Weight to provide market participants with a reliable and publicly available benchmark for investment performance in the gold, palladium, platinum, and silver commodity markets. The index is equally weighted on a quarterly basis. What is the added Read more […]
In light of the gold buying tradition for the upcoming Diwali festival in India, many might be wondering how valuable their gifts may be based on the price of gold. Several factors influence the price of gold that make timing gold as an investment difficult; however, now there might be upside potential for gold, especially since its Read more […]
Many news headlines point to rising or falling Chinese demand growth as a main influence of commodity performance. However, there are many other fundamentals like the U.S. dollar and interest rates that drive commodities. Even in the Chinese market, there are forces besides demand growth like demand for storage and demand for metals to be used as financial Read more […]
In anticipation of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting starting Wednesday that may raise the federal funds target rate, here’s what you need to know about how the decision impacts commodities. Historically rising interest rates are positive for commodities for two main reasons. One is the return on collateral increases, pushing up the total return. The other reason Read more […]
Commodities have continued their slump in April with the S&P GSCI Total Return losing 2.1% and Dow Jones Commodity Index (DJCI) Total Return losing 1.7% for year to date performance of -7.1% and -3.6%, respectively. Only 2 of 5 sectors and 7 of 24 commodities were positive in April. In the S&P GSCI, livestock gained Read more […]
In the context of declining commodity prices following the global financial crisis, inverse indices became popular for market participants looking to profit from negative returns. As the oil war unfolded and drove commodity prices further down, market participants took a renewed interest in using inverse indices to bet against the market. When commodities rebounded last Read more […]
November was sandwiched between two eventful surprises, starting with the election and ending with OPEC’s agreement to cut output, that resulted in a month filled with big moves, mostly positive. The Dow Jones Commodity Index (DJCI) Total Return for the month was 2.3%, bringing its year-to-date (YTD) total return to 11.8%. The S&P GSCI Total Return Read more […]
In October, the S&P GSCI Total Return (TR) lost 1.5% but the Dow Jones Commodity Index (DJCI) TR gained 0.1%. The performance disparity was mainly due to the weighting difference in energy since crude oil in the indices slid near 10% from its mid-month high, on doubts over OPEC’s ability to agree on production cuts and the Read more […]
The S&P GSCI Total Return gained 4.1% in Sep., cutting the loss in the 3rd quarter to 4.2% and bring its year-to-date performance to 5.3%. 19 of 24 commodities were positive in Sep., from just 8 in Jul., the most to turn from negative to positive in two months since Jul. 2012. Energy gained 6.1%, making Read more […]