S&P Dow Jones Indices has recently published the latest Commodities Performance Highlights – March 2019, a monthly note on Commodities updates.
Highlights
- The S&P GSCI was up 1.6% in March and up 15.0% YTD
- The performance of the Dow Jones Commodity Index (DJCI) was more modest in March, up 0.1%, and it was up 7.5% YTD, reflecting its lower energy weighting.
- Petroleum prices were the standout driver of broad commodity index performance over the first three months of the year. In contrast, the agricultural commodities proved to be a drain on overall performance, and, while investor interest in precious metals remains well above previous years, price moves have been meek.
- The standout performer across the commodity complex in March was lean hogs, with the S&P GSCI Lean Hogs up 23.8% for the month and up 6.9% YTD, pushing the broader S&P GSCI Livestock up 5.5% in March and up 3.9% YTD. Lean hogs spent the first two months of the year in the doldrums fixated on higher-than-expected levels of U.S. pork production and ongoing market access restrictions for U.S. pork in key export markets. By March, these factors were dwarfed by the realization that the scope, severity, and impact of the African swine flu outbreak in China had potentially been greatly misunderstood.
Oil prices posted their strongest quarterly price gain in almost 10 years in Q1 2019. The S&P GSCI Petroleum ended the month up 2.9% and up 27.1% YTD. In mid-March, OPEC scrapped its planned April meeting, declaring that it would now delay any decision to extend production cuts until June, once the market had assessed the impact of U.S. sanctions on Iran and the crisis in Venezuela. However, it is clear that cracks in the OPEC Plus union are emerging. OPEC’s de facto leader Saudi Arabia favors cuts for the full year, while Russia, which joined the agreement reluctantly, is seen as less keen to restrict supply beyond September. While supply has been the main driver of the recent price appreciation, it is worth recalling that demand is what led to the sizable price decline in the final months of 2018. There are nascent signs that Asian demand has stabilized, but there are growing concerns regarding European demand.
Fiona Boal, Head of Commodities and Real Assets at S&P Dow Jones Indices comments: “A stronger U.S. dollar, growing expectations of a trade deal between the U.S. and China, and a general rise in investors’ risk appetite all contributed to gold posting its second consecutive down month in March (down 1.6% for the month and up only 0.9% YTD). These factors were more than sufficient to offset any support from the apparent end of interest rate increases in the U.S. Gold is traditionally seen as a safe place to invest during periods of uncertainty; higher interest rates hurt gold because they make bullion, which pays no yield, meaning it is less attractive to investors, while a stronger U.S. dollar can depress demand by making gold more expensive for buyers in other currencies.”
