Commodity Blog

Commodities Week in Review: September 28 to October 2 

Agriculture 

The leading agricultural commodities – corn, soybean, and wheat – reignited a rally this week, driven primarily by a weakening US dollar. A lower buck is good for commodities priced in dollars because it makes it cheaper for foreign investors to purchase. Moreover, early forecasts suggest that food demand – at home and abroad – will continue to balloon as more people stay home during the winter months amid the coronavirus pandemic, forcing producers to ramp up output. 

Cocoa 

• Friday Settlement: -$6.00, or 0.24%, to $2,476 per metric ton 
• Weekly Performance: -3.92% 
• YTD Performance: -2.44% 

Coffee 

• Friday Settlement: +$0.0045, or 0.41%, to $1.094 per pound 
• Weekly Performance: -4.20% 
• YTD Performance: -15.29% 

Corn 

• Friday Settlement: -$0.0325, or 0.85%, to $3.795 per pound 
• Weekly Performance: +3.97% 
• YTD Performance: -2.00% 

Orange Juice 

• Friday Settlement: +$0.003, or 0.27%, to $1.1145 per pound 
• Weekly Performance: +5.69% 
• YTD Performance: +11.79% 

Rice 

• Friday Settlement: +$0.003, or 0.24%, to $12.54 per pound 
• Weekly Performance: +1.01% 
• YTD Performance: +4.37% 

Soybeans 

• Friday Settlement: -$0.035, or 0.34%, to $10.20 per bushel 
• Weekly Performance: +1.87% 
• YTD Performance: +6.69% 

Sugar 

• Friday Settlement: Unchanged at 13.58 cents per pound 
• Weekly Performance: +0.37% 
• YTD Performance: +1.04% 

Wheat 

• Friday Settlement: +$0.03, or 0.53%, to $5.7325 per bushel 
• Weekly Performance: +5.38% 
• YTD Performance: +2.46% 

Bitcoin 

The peer-to-peer decentralized digital currency bitcoin continued to face selling pressure amid a selloff in the broader financial markets this week. The virtual currency slumped on BitMEX, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, was charged by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for illegally operating a cryptocurrency derivatives trading platform. The company has approximately 200,000 bitcoins, or $2 billion, in its vault. This was a huge blow to the overall crypto market. 

• Friday Settlement: -$70.00, or 0.66%, to $10,757.00 per coin 
• Weekly Performance: -0.33% 
• YTD Performance: +46.47% 

Energy 

The energy sector was battered this week, driven primarily by foreign demand concerns. Crude oil prices fell below $40 as the resurgence of the coronavirus has caused investors to be apprehensive about the global economic recovery. The consensus among oil-producing nations and analysts is that demand will not return to pre-pandemic levels for a while, but that is not stopping American oil and gas firms from restarting activities. 

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude Oil 

• Friday Settlement: -$1.73, or 4.47%, to $36.99 per barrel 
• Weekly Performance: -7.62% 
• YTD Performance: -39.57% 

Brent Crude Oil 

• Friday Settlement: -$0.37, or 0.94%, to $38.90 per barrel 
• Weekly Performance: -7.95% 
• YTD Performance: -41.09% 

Natural Gas 

• Friday Settlement: -$0.088, or 3.48%, to $2.439 per million British thermal units (btu) 
• Weekly Performance: -13.02% 
• YTD Performance: +11.73% 

Gasoline 

• Friday Settlement: -$0.0334, or 2.90%, to $1.1190 per gallon 
• Weekly Performance: -5.82% 
• YTD Performance: -34.07% 

Heating Oil 

• Friday Settlement: -$0.041, or 3.64%, to $1.0840 per gallon 
• Weekly Performance: -4.23% 
• YTD Performance: -46.5% 

Metals 

The metals class enjoyed a strong week as both gold and silver turned reclaimed some of their gains in recent months. Although the precious metals failed to take advantage of the worse-than-expected September jobs report and President Donald Trump testing positive for the coronavirus, many market observers still anticipate the yellow and white metal to surge in the final quarter of 2020. 

Gold 

• Friday Settlement: -$11.80, or 0.62%, to $1,904.50 per ounce 
• Weekly Performance: +2.16% 
• YTD Performance: +25.30% 

Silver 

• Friday Settlement: -$0.394, or 1.62%, to $23.86 per ounce 
• Weekly Performance: +3.81% 
• YTD Performance: +33.3% 

Copper 

• Friday Settlement: +$0.1145, or 4.00%, to $2.98 per pound 
• Weekly Performance: +0.07% 
• YTD Performance: +6.49% 

Palladium 

• Friday Settlement: -$17.70, or 0.76%, to $2,310.50 per ounce 
• Weekly Performance: +3.60% 
• YTD Performance: +20.82% 

Platinum 

• Friday Settlement: -$18.80, or 2.08%, to $887.20 per ounce 
• Weekly Performance: +5.42% 
• YTD Performance: -8.71% 

If you have any questions and comments on commodities today, use the form below to reply.