Tag Archives: copper
Copper Crashes the Energy Party in February
An inflationary tide lifted almost all commodity boats in February 2021. Most constituents of the S&P GSCI rose while gold, the commodity that market participants often look to for inflation protection, lagged. The S&P GSCI rose 10.6% overall in February, with copper and energy doing most of the heavy lifting. After a strong January, the S&P GSCI Crude…
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Commodities Performance Highlights – May 2019
There was a notable reversal of fortunes across the commodities complex in May. The S&P GSCI was down 8.2% for the month but remained up 8.5% YTD. The Dow Jones Commodity Index (DJCI) was down 3.6% in May and up 3.7% YTD, reflecting its lower energy weighting. A sharp correction in petroleum prices combined with…
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Commodities: Winners and Losers of 2017
The Dow Jones Commodity Index (DJCI) was up 3.0% for the month and up 4.4% YTD, and the S&P GSCI was up 4.4% with a YTD return of 5.8%. In December, livestock was the worst-performing sector in the indices, while industrial metals was the best. Of the 24 commodities tracked by the indices, 16 posted…
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Chinese Demand Growth Lifts Every Commodity
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…
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Inflation, Rising Rates Can Spark Oil’s Rebound
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…
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Commodity Trends Boost Leveraged and Inverse Indices
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…
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Base Metals Beat Precious Metals By Most In 26 Years
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…
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Industrial Metals On Pace For Worst Month In 4 Years
While most of the markets have calmed as investors wait for Brexit and the Fed rate decision, industrial metals are crashing. The S&P GSCI Industrial Metals Total Return is down 8.7% month-to date (through May 23, 2016,) and on pace to record its worst month since May 2012, when it lost 9.7%. At this rate, the…
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Metals Don’t Reflect Chinese Demand Growth
After China reported year-over-year first-quarter growth that showed signs of improvement, it overpowered negative news of the Doha oil production meeting failure and sent commodities rallying. Investors’ attention quickly shifted from oil to the other economically sensitive sector, industrial metals. Many believe the uses for metals in construction and automobile manufacturing are the driving force behind the sector….
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Is There A Doctor (Copper) In The House?
Copper, the most important commodity in the world, has earned the title of “Dr. Copper” for predicting economic health. Today, TD Ameritrade ran an article claiming Dr. Copper Is In, questioning whether copper hinted last year at the current slowing global growth. While prior research shows Dr. Copper is not so smart, copper is still…
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