Despite a disappointing 2011, many commodities rebounded in a year that was tough for all asset classes. Among agricultural products, wheat and soybeans yielded the highest gains and coffee the biggest loss while in metals, gold's rally stretched to a 12th year whereas oil posted its first annual loss since 2008 as commodities ended 2012 focused on the U.S. fiscal crisis after riding through a blistering drought and Europe's debt debacle.
Stocks showed best performance in three years after posting the worst returns in 2011, beating bonds, commodities and the dollar. The major force behind stocks is central banks. The MSCI All-Country World Index of equities increased 16.9 percent in 2012. The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Total Return Index of 24 commodities rose 0.1 percent, while the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) lost 0.5 percent. Bonds of all types returned 5.73 percent, on average, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Global Broad Market Index.
Despite a mixed price trend over the year, the FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) averaged 212 points in 2012, 7 percent (17 points) less than in 2011.
PMEX commodity index increased by 9.60 % during the year 2012 which is based on seven commodities Gold, Silver, Crude Oil, Rice, Sugar, wheat and Palm Olein.
Click here to download the PMEX Commodity Review for the year ended 2012.
