New target weightings for the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index and the addition of the Brent futures contract as part of the index’s crude oil component were announced today by Dow Jones Indexes and UBS Investment Bank.
Changes to the index, scheduled to be effective in January 2012, were determined and approved by the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index (DJ-UBSCI) Supervisory Committee following consultation with the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Advisory Committee.
The Supervisory Committee cited several factors for adding the Brent futures contract to the WTI (West Texas Intermediate) futures contract in comprising the crude oil component of the index: acknowledgment of Brent’s economic significance as a global benchmark, the liquidity of the Brent futures contract and the actual production of the commodity itself. WTI will comprise approximately two-thirds of the index’s crude oil weighting, with Brent accounting for the remainder.
Target weightings of all the DJ-UBSCI commodity components for 2012 – and, for comparative purposes, 2011 -- are listed below:
|
2012 Target Weight |
2011 Target Weight |
Natural Gas |
10.7651090% |
11.2189620% |
WTI Crude Oil |
9.6871640% |
14.7092970% |
Brent Crude Oil |
5.3128360% |
0.000000% |
Unleaded Gasoline |
3.4059820% |
3.4966710% |
Heating Oil |
3.4595290% |
3.5750700% |
Live Cattle |
3.6349880% |
3.3591330% |
Lean Hogs |
2.1126600% |
2.0000000% |
Wheat |
4.9618090% |
4.6052380% |
Corn |
6.6705200% |
6.9785370% |
Soybeans |
7.0841970% |
7.8568150% |
Soybean Oil |
3.3723860% |
2.9372440% |
Aluminum |
5.8767470% |
5.2032850% |
Copper |
7.0639490% |
7.5390900% |
Zinc |
3.1187350% |
2.8493550% |
Nickel |
2.5798400% |
2.2508150% |
Lead |
0.0000000% |
0.0000000% |
Tin |
0.0000000% |
0.0000000% |
Gold |
9.7936330% |
10.4490670% |
Silver |
2.7691330% |
3.2896330% |
Platinum |
0.0000000% |
0.0000000% |
Sugar |
3.7583900% |
3.3260140% |
Cotton |
2.0000000% |
2.0000000% |
Coffee |
2.5723950% |
2.3557730% |
Cocoa |
0.0000000% |
0.0000000% |
The target weights are determined in accordance with construction rules described in the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Handbook. These rules generally account for liquidity and production data in a 2:1 ratio, subject to further requirements for diversification and minimum weightings. The resulting weights will be used to determine the DJ-UBSCI Multipliers for 2012. These Multipliers, computed once a year in January, are factors used to express the percentage weights in U.S. dollar-denominated terms when calculating the index.
Launched in 1998, the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index family includes nine sector sub-indexes, multiple-forward month indexes, indexes for each individual commodity in the original DJ-UBSCI, Euro-, Yen-, Sterling-, and Swiss Franc-denominated versions of the DJ-UBSCI, and the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Spot Index. Also available are total return versions of each of the excess return indexes and sub-indexes. As of the end of the second quarter of 2011, an estimated $80.2 billion tracked the DJ-UBSCI family.