Commodity Blog

Commodities Week in Review: October 26 to October 30

Agriculture 

It was a noteworthy performance for agricultural commodities in recent sessions because the decline in prices coincided with the strenghtening of the US dollar. The greenback recorded close to a 1% jump, while crops failed to register any momentm. A strengthening buck is bad for dollar-denomiated commodities becase it makes it more expensive to purchase.

Cocoa 

• Friday Settlement: +$6.00, or 0.26%, to $2,299 per metric ton
• Weekly Performance: -7.34% 
• Monthly Performance: -7.15%
• YTD Performance: -9.42%

Coffee 

• Friday Settlement: -$0.0035, or 0.33%, to $1.0425 per pound
• Weekly Performance: -1.04%
• Monthly Performance: -4.71%
• YTD Performance: -19.28%

Corn 

• Friday Settlement: -$0.01, or 0.25%, to $3.975 per pound
• Weekly Performance: -5.36%
• Monthly Performance: +4.74%
• YTD Performance: 2.65%

Orange Juice 

• Friday Settlement: -$0.003, or 0.26%, to $1.1405 per pound
• Weekly Performance: -1.13%
• Monthly Performance: +2.33%
• YTD Performance: +14.39%

Rice 

• Friday Settlement: +$0.065, or 0.52%, to $12.535 per pound
• Weekly Performance:  +1.54%
• Monthly Performance: -0.04%
• YTD Performance: +4.33%

Soybeans 

• Friday Settlement: +$0.0625, or 0.59%, to $10.567 per bushel
• Weekly Performance: -2.78%
• Monthly Performance: +3.6%
• YTD Performance: +10.54%

Sugar 

• Friday Settlement: +0.02 cents, or 0.14%, to 14.42 cents per pound
• Weekly Performance: -2.10%
• Monthly Performance: +6.19%
• YTD Performance: +7.29%

Wheat 

• Friday Settlement: -$0.05, or 0.83%, to $5.9875 per bushel
• Weekly Performance: -5.63%
• Monthly Performance: +4.45%
• YTD Performance: +7.02%

Bitcoin 

How high can the peer-to-peer decentralized digital currency go? Bitcoin prices surged this week on expectations that the cryptocurrency could top $30,000 by the end of January 2021. But market observers warn that bitcoin is potentially in line for a correction as it approaches the Market-Value-to-Realized Value (MVRV).

• Friday Settlement: -$20.00, or 0.15%, to $13,485.00 per coin
• Weekly Performance: +3.73%
• Monthly Performance: +27.52%
• YTD Performance: +86.77%

Energy 

Crude oil prices maintained their immense volatility this week, suffering dramatic losses during the final trading week of October. Natural gas was the sole energy commodity that enjoyed a huge surge in prices, thanks to a mix of cold weather, supplies, and technical developments when it comes to shipping.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude Oil 

• Friday Settlement: -$0.45, or 1.24%, to $35.72 per barrel
• Weekly Performance: -10.21%
• Monthly Performance: -3.43%
• YTD Performance: -41.64%

Brent Crude Oil 

• Friday Settlement: -$0.08, or 0.21%, to $37.86 per barrel
• Weekly Performance: -8.97%
• Monthly Performance: -2.67%
• YTD Performance: -42.66%

Natural Gas 

• Friday Settlement: +$0.083, or 2.43%, to $3.500 per million British thermal units (btu)
• Weekly Performance: +19.05%
• Monthly Performance: +43.50%
• YTD Performance: +60.3%

Gasoline 

• Friday Settlement: +$0.0038, or 0.37%, to $1.0318 per gallon
• Weekly Performance: -8.41%
• Monthly Performance: -7.79%
• YTD Performance: -39.21%

Heating Oil 

• Friday Settlement: -$0.0031, or 0.29%, to $1.0838 per gallon
• Weekly Performance: -6.25%
• Monthly Performance: -0.02%
• YTD Performance: -46.51%

Metals 

Gold suffered its third consecutive weekly loss as the precious metal failed to garner any momentum. The yellow metal, which is typically a safe-haven asset, could not take advantage of the resurgene in coronavirus cases and the uncertainty surrounding the 2020 presidential election on Tuesday. The main problem for gold prices is that the US dollar experienced a rebound in recent sessions, while the Congress has yet to approve a fiscal stimulus and relief package that traders would say would trigger huge bouts of inflation.

Gold 

• Friday Settlement: +$10.80, or 0.58%, to $1,878.80 per ounce
• Weekly Performance: -1.29%
• Monthly Performance: -1.35%
• YTD Performance: +23.61%

Silver 

• Friday Settlement: +$0.355, or 1.52%, to $23.715 per ounce
• Weekly Performance: -3.99%
• Monthly Performance: -0.61%
• YTD Performance: +32.49%

Copper 

• Friday Settlement: -$0.006, or 0.2%, to $3.0505 per pound
• Weekly Performance: -2.94%
• Monthly Performance: +2.37%
• YTD Performance: 9.00%

Palladium 

• Friday Settlement: +$17.20, or 0.78%, to $2,215.70 per ounce
• Weekly Performance: -7.98%
• Monthly Performance: -4.10%
• YTD Performance: +15.86%

Platinum 

• Friday Settlement: -$2.50, or 0.29%, to $847.00 per oucne
• Weekly Performance: -6.78%
• Monthly Performance: -4.53%
• YTD Performance: -12.84%

Steel

• Friday Settlement: +$3.00, or 0.43%, to $693.00 per metric ton
• Weekly Performance: +2.06%
• Monthly Performance: +10.53%
• YTD Performance: +17.66%