Two years ago, Saudi Arabia and the other OPEC nations declared an oil war with America. On November 30h OPEC will meet to admit they have lost that conflict.
At this month’s meeting OPEC will try to decide about the possibility of a global production cut or even a freeze in crude oil production in order to raise prices. The speculation about this conference is the fact that the production increase war failed and OPEC is on the verge of extinction………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Managers at Schroders explain why commodities should outperform in 2017 and give their three resources investors should look at to capitalise on this. Commodities have been a very disappointing area to be invested over the past few years but they could be at the start of another “extraordinary” bull run, according to the team at Schroders.
Gavin Ralston, head of official institutions, said: “Commodities have been a very disappointing place to invest for some time. “The return on the broad commodities indices was negative and that was of course at a time when equities and bonds were giving pretty strong inflation-adjusted returns.”…………………………………Full Article: Source

Commodities-related revenue at the 12 biggest investment banks fell 22 percent in the first nine months due to weak industrial metals trading and lackluster investor interest, a report by financial industry analytics firm Coalition said.
Revenue from commodity trading, selling derivatives to investors and other activities in the sector slid to $3.1 billion between January to September from $4 billion in the same period in 2015, the report published on Thursday found……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Will recent history of commodities performing better under a Democrat continue or will a Republican break the mold? How are commodities likely to perform under a Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump administration?
Data going back to 1970 show that gold, oil and 17 out of 24 commodities fared better on average when a Democrat was in the White House, according to Jodie Gunzberg, head of commodities and real assets at S&P Dow Jones Indices. Gunzberg’s data show that seven other commodities thrived under a Republican administration…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Chinese coal imports by volume in October were up 55% on the year. China posted another month of lackluster trade figures in October, but one positive trend remains intact: Chinese power plants and factories have an ample appetite for coal, iron and oil.
Commodity investors bruised and battered by two years of gut-wrenching price declines have been cheered in recent months by record imports from China, which have helped push oil and iron ore prices off their nadir and helicoptered Aussie coal prices back to levels not seen since early 2014…………………………………….Full Article: Source

The rebound rally in gold is well established with a move above $1,290. The upside target is near $1,350. It’s good to see the gold uptrend continuing but the upside target delivers only 4.65% profit. Rather than trade gold there are more effective and profitable ways to trade this rebound.
Gold’s companion, silver, has similar characteristics but offers a higher return for the same behavior. Silver lags the gold price behavior. Silver has a resistance level near $18.75. This is the equivalent to the $1,290 resistance level on the gold chart. Silver lags gold so the silver price is only just moving above resistance near $18.75…………………………………….Full Article: Source

The price trend for all LME-traded base metals so far this year has been higher, apart from in copper. Largely shrugging off uncertainty about the global economy and geopolitics, most of the metals peaked in August, although copper set its high in March and tin and zinc set multi-month highs this week.
Zinc is the best performer in the complex – as of the close of Tuesday October 25, it was up 47% from the start of the year. The three-month LME price peaked at $2,418 per tonne in October, rising from $1,610 in January………………………………….Full Article: Source

Copper is also inversely related to US dollar since copper is traded in US currency so any appreciation in US dollar will have negative impact on copper prices. In 2016, MCX Copper has rallied by 1.85% while COMEX copper has rallied by 3%, making it the worst performing base metal, while commodities like zinc and lead have appreciated by 55% and 42%.
Other base metals like aluminum and nickel all have posted double-digit gain this year. Copper has been underperformer this year and sentiment may remain sluggish next year also on back of China’s decline in refined imports as their domestic production of copper is increasing…………………………………Full Article: Source

Commodities remain on track to record their first year of positive returns since 2010. But with the Bloomberg Commodity index up by less than 10%, it could all still change before year-end. While the energy sector continues to stabilise following a two-year selloff, it has primarily been the precious metals sector with its 26% gain that has helped stop the commodity rout, Ole Hansen, Head of Commodity Strategy at Saxo Bank has said.
Global commodity demand has yet to recover as continued questions about global growth are being asked. Instead, most of the gains – apart from those seen in precious metals – have been due to the supply side adjusting, either through cutting production (oil and industrial metals) or through involuntary disruptions caused by weather (softs), he said in a note……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Commodities increased in September, broadly due to supply fundamental factors, according to Credit Suisse Asset Management. The Bloomberg Commodity Index Total Return performance was positive for the month, with 18 out of 22 Index constituents posting gains.
Credit Suisse Asset Management observed the following: Industrial Metals was the best performing sector, up 5.21%, led by Nickel amid reports that the Philippines may suspend additional mines for failing to meet environmental standards as a result of the government’s audit. Agriculture ended 4.25% higher. Sugar gained the most as UNICA, the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association, reported lower-than-expected domestic cane yields. In addition, the International Sugar Organization forecasted a global sugar deficit for the 2016-2017 season……………………………………….Full Article: Source

In recent years, the fourth quarter has heralded a big fall in commodity prices. But this year will be different, according to Barclays, which says stronger economic growth in Asia and supply curbs across commodities should support prices through the end of the year.
Commodities prices have fallen in the fourth quarter for the last five years. In the last two years that decline has been particularly steep, according to the Bloomberg Commodity Index, which fell by 16.8% in 2014 and 24.8% in 2015………………………………………Full Article: Source

Commodities decreased in July, largely driven by changing supply fundamentals, according to Credit Suisse Asset Management. The Bloomberg Commodity Index Total Return performance was negative for the month, with 15 out of 22 Index constituents posting losses.
Energy was the worst performing sector, down 10.69%, with all sector commodities posting losses. WTI Crude Oil declined the most amid increased US production expectations. Brent Crude Oil also decreased as global excess supplies persisted. Precious Metals was the best performing sector, up 4.29%. Silver increased the most due to weaker-than-expected US economic data and after the US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged. (Press Release)……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Many investors were quick to take advantage following the EU referendum result, but there were wide disparities in performance between different sectors and funds in the month that followed. Here, Telegraph Money looks at the best and worst performers over the course of July, using analysis from Wealth Club, an investment service.
According to the research, technology and telecoms was the best performing sector, returning 9.5pc over the course of the month, largely thanks to the £24.3bn takeover of Arm Holdings, the chip designer, by a Japanese company at a premium of almost 50pc to its pre-bid share price………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Gold prices traded near their highest levels this year on Wednesday as investors sought havens on increasing concerns over global growth. Gold hit a high of $1,367 a troy ounce this week, just shy of its year high of $1,374.71 reached on July 11, before falling back to $1,357.40 late on Wednesday. The precious metal is up 28 per cent this year.
The price of gold has been driven by buying of gold exchange traded funds, which are backed by holdings of the metal. The funds’ holdings of the metal are at their highest level since July 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Zinc remains the top performer of the 22 raw materials tracked by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, and is up over 41% this year. It is also the top performer of London Metal Exchange traded metals, with zinc stores monitored by the bourse down 30% from their last September peak. The metal is finding support at $2166 and is meeting resistance at $2294.
Even with its outstanding performance, investors remain bullish on the metal with open interest climbing to its highest since October. The reason for the rapid turnaround in the metal is a changing supply chain, with supply cuts and mining closures changing the market fundamentals, with a deepening deficit now expected………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The best performing trusts in Q2 focused on commodities and natural resources, Vietnam and Latin America, according to QuotedData. Quoted Data does a quarterly report on investment companies listed in the United Kingdom, including performance figures on a price and NAV basis.
This quarter was different in that it was affected by the major macroeconomic event of the Brexit vote. Several sectors, mainly property and UK mid & small cap were affected by the referendum, and private equity was one of the sectors that was hit the most. The median discount within the private equity sector moved from -25.34% on the day of the vote to -32.21% one week later………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell on Wednesday on weaker rates for larger vessels and supramaxes.
The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, was down 17 points, or 2.44 percent, at 679 points. The capesize index fell 38 points, or 4.52 percent, to 803 points………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Industry endures its longest sequence of quarterly withdrawals since 2009. Global hedge funds suffered net outflows of $20.7bn in June, as investors pulled more of their money out despite improved performance from most managers.
After inflows in April and May, the withdrawals took total aggregate net redemptions for the second quarter to $10.7bn, according to data from eVestment, marking the third consecutive quarter in which money has left the sector………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Silver has surged over 40% since the beginning of 2016, making it the number performing commodity of 2016. But is the surge of the precious metal just the beginning of things to come? Historically the price of silver tends to track the price of gold as both are seen as monetary metals.
Silver is often more volatile, however, experiencing larger up and downswings with market movements. Essentially, silver could be explained as gold on steroids………………………………………..Full Article: Source

It’s expected of a fund tracking precious metals to experience volatility, with holdings in ETFs climbing almost 21% earlier this year and then gold prices jumped as much as 8.1% after U.K.’s Brexit vote, the most since the height of the global financial crisis in 2008, according to Bloomberg News.
Short-term data depicts just how essential a quick flood to the category can be. Those who selected gold, silver or other precious metal funds in light of recent market volatility have been able to profit handsomely all of the category’s top YTD performers raked in triple digit returns while the same funds over the long-term all experienced double-digit negative returns………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Following Britain’s decision to leave the European Union (EU), investors are turning to “safety” assets. What is notable is that the price of silver is rising steeper than gold. Silver traded at $40.40 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange on July 6, surpassing $20 for the first time since August 2014.
Cho Byung-hyun, a market analyst at Yuanta Securities, noted that the market’s interest in precious metals such as gold and silver has been strong since early this year _ gold has risen 27 percent this year while silver has risen 45 percent………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Middle East is back as the world’s dominant oil-producing region, a report said Wednesday, churning out its biggest chunk of global output since the 1970s and giving OPEC an edge in its fight for market share.
The rise of American oil production from shale formations had reduced consumer reliance on Middle East crude in recent years. But a surge in production from Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran this year—coupled with falling shale oil output during a price slump—has changed the equation, according to the International Energy Agency’s closely watched monthly report………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Six major international commodity exchanges saw trading volume jump 16% year on year during the first half of 2016, fueled by an inflow of funds to crude oil and safe-haven buying of gold.
About 887.19 million contracts changed hands during the first six months of the year, marking the fourth straight half to see year-on-year growth. The survey covered the New York Mercantile Exchange, the Chicago Board of Trade, the Intercontinental Exchange in the U.S. and Europe, the London Metal Exchange and the Tokyo Commodity Exchange………………………………………..Full Article: Source

For the third consecutive year, the second quarter has seen noteworthy gains in commodities, with the Bloomberg Commodity Index climbing away from the 17-year lows seen in January 2016.
Saxo Group head of commodity strategy Ole Hansen noted that “strong comebacks” from oil and natural gas helped push a rally in commodities, something further supported by continuing demand for precious metals………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Silver may be the best performing metal in the year to date, boosted by safe-haven flows and end-use demand, but Citi expects profit-taking to take the price lower over the rest of 2016, it said. It sees the metal correcting to average $18.30 per ounce in the third quarter and to average $16.95 over the whole of the year, it said in a note.
Spot silver prices breached $20 for the first time since April 2014 this year. At $20.345/20.370 recently, it was little changed from the previous close. Citi expects more of the same in the second half of the year because the market is arguably already positioned heavily long, it said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Commodity prices surged this quarter by the most in over five years, driven by rallies in oil, sugar and gold, as supplies become tighter in many sectors and investors warm to an asset class shunned for years.
The strong gains have occurred despite the uncertainty surrounding last week’s vote by the UK to exit the European Union. “We do not anticipate that Brexit itself will derail the structural supply/demand-led rebound in commodity prices heading into 2017,” analyst Aakash Doshi at Citi said in a note this week………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Gold prices soar, but many commodities will suffer from the ripple effects of the referendum. Goldbugs are natural Brexiteers; intensely suspicious of large bureaucracies like the European Union and avid conspiracy theorists when it comes to the power of global “elites”. They had double reason to celebrate on June 24th, when Britain’s decision to leave the EU sent gold prices soaring.
But the rise of the yellow metal is also a symptom of the fear that Brexit is unleashing on the global economy. Hence other commodities that are more dependent upon global demand, such as oil, fell sharply. After a huge rally since their trough earlier this year, the commodities markets were vulnerable to a shock. Hedge funds and other money managers had built up big bets on rising prices………………………………………..Full Article: Source

ETFGI the leading independent research and consultancy firm on trends in the global ETF/ETP ecosystem, today reported ETFGI reports ETFs/ETPs in Europe gathered US$2.68 billion in net new assets in May marking 20 consecutive months of positive net inflows, according to preliminary data from ETFGI’s May 2016 global ETF and ETP industry insights report.
Record levels of assets invested in ETFs/ETPs were reached at the end of May for ETFs/ETPs listed globally at US$3.143 trillion, in the United States at US$2.229 trillion and in Japan which reached US$147 billion. At the end of May 2016, the European ETF/ETP industry had 2,219 ETFs/ETPs, with 6,927 listings, assets of US$530 Bn, from 52 providers listed on 25 exchanges in 21 countries………………………………………..Full Article: Source

In May, U.S.-listed funds gathered net inflows of $3.3 billion, with the biggest gainers commodity ETFs/ETPs. Assets invested in exchange-traded funds and products listed in the U.S. hit a new record high $2.23 trillion at the end of May, ETFGI reported.
The U.S. sector had 1,902 ETFs/ETPs from 96 providers listed on three exchanges. ETFGI also reported record levels of assets invested in globally listed ETFs/ETPs, $3.14 trillion, and in Japan, $147 billion………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Year-to-date gains in core commodity indexes are two to three times the gains in broad U.S. bond and stock indexes. For the first time in years, commodities are doing something they haven’t done in a while: They’re outperforming major asset classes like stocks, bonds and real estate.
After several years of consecutive annual losses for major commodity benchmarks, a turnaround in the beleaguered group appears to be in the works. Since the start of the year, the Thomson Reuters/CoreCommodity CRB Index (CRY) has climbed 9.5% in value compared to a gain of just 3.6% for the total U.S. stock market (VTI), 4.4% for the total U.S. bond market (BND) and 7% for global real estate equities (REET)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Commodities slightly decreased in May, driven by supply factors and macroeconomic events, according to Credit Suisse Asset Management. The Bloomberg Commodity Index Total Return performance was slightly negative for the month, with 11 out of 22 Index constituents posting losses.
Industrial Metals was the worst performing sector, down 7.27%, with all sector commodities yielding negative returns, as demand concerns out of China persisted. Supplies also remained ample, broadly weighing on base metals. Precious Metals declined 7.07%, led lower by Silver, amid a strengthening U.S. Dollar and Chinese industrial demand concerns. (Press Release)

Zinc prices has surged as much as 25 percent in 2016 to the highest since July as miners supply less of the ore concentrate that’s refined to produce the metal, just as demand rebounds in China, the biggest user. It has emerged as the best performing metal this year.
Prices for the metal rose past Rs 135 per kg on June 3, their highest level in almost 10 months. This defies a slump in commodities from copper to iron ore and nickel, which have continued to fall over the past month amid concerns about growth in China………………………………………..Full Article: Source

It’s not just gold and oil: Agricultural products are on the rise. Even Deere and DuPont are up. Not many individual investors have experienced trading in the commodities pits, but they should pay attention to what is happening there right now. Commodities from sugar to soybeans look quite strong, and that is giving commodities-related stocks a boost, too.
You don’t have to have conviction on pork-belly futures to participate. The PowerShares DB Agriculture fund holds positions in a broad array of agricultural commodities, and after a choppy May it erupted higher two weeks ago……………………………………….Full Article: Source

As gold stocks surge, this options trade lets investors pocket income as long as prices don’t fall. Gold, which defies traditional valuation metrics, keeps attracting buyers in anticipation of further gains. This is incredible because stocks, which can be valued based on cash flow, are dancing around record highs and it’s hard to find anyone who is confident about the near-term future.
But the SPDR Gold Trust , even though it is up some 14% this year in what appears to be a knee-jerk reaction to simmering fears that the world economy is in bad shape, is in a full-fledged bull market. ……………………………………….Full Article: Source

After years of disappointment, evidence that some investors are again seeking broad exposure. Here’s an unfamiliar phrase: commodities are the best performing asset class. Yes, it’s true. In the year 2016, total returns from the Bloomberg Commodity Index are over 11 per cent. Compare that to global bonds, at about 6 per cent, and global equities at just over 2 per cent.
The index has pushed higher thanks to components such as oil, gold, soyabeans and zinc. On Monday, the benchmark was up 21 per cent from its January low, entering a bull market. It is the strongest start to any year since the notorious commodities price spike of 2008………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The rally in oil has given a fillip to long-suffering commodities hedge funds. After four years of haemorrhaging cash and clients, managers are once again making money and winning back investors. About $5 billion has coursed into the funds in 2016, with the first quarter seeing the biggest inflows since 2009, according to data compiled by eVestment.
Investors are being drawn by gains such as the more than 18 per cent increase reported in a letter to clients by Stuart Zimmer’s ZP Energy Fund in New York and the 12.7 per cent posted by oil trader Pierre Andurand’s $1.1 billion Commodities Master Fund in London. Officials at the funds declined to comment………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Commodities have enjoyed their biggest three month gain since 2009, according to a note from S&P Dow Jones Indices. The S&P GSCI (formerly Goldman Sachs Commodity Index) has seen a total return of 9.8% this year-to-date, with commodities now outperforming stocks for the first year since 2007.
While not every broad commodity index has performed as strongly as the S&P GSCI, which is weighted by world production and significantly energy sector-heavy, 2016 has seen a rebound in most commodities from their five-year trend, providing benefits to investors in a range of exchange-traded funds linked to these indices………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The total value of commodity assets held by fund managers globally rose in April to $220 billion, up 14 percent from the month before to reach the highest level in a year, analysts at Barclays said in a note.
Precious metals accounted for 50 percent of total assets under management (AUM) at $110 billion, followed by energy at $58 billion, said the note published on Tuesday, which cited an analysis of data from financial information suppliers including Reuters as well as Barclays’ own research. ……………………………………….Full Article: Source

While the Modi government had its hits and misses, India Inc has found the going quite tough over the last two years. This was mainly due to several external factors. One, slowing global growth resulted in exports consistently trending lower. This impacted sectors such as information technology, pharmaceuticals and auto and auto component makers.
Two, global overcapacity and slowing imports from China made commodities dive sharply. The Thomson Reuters core commodity index that tracks the movement of major commodities is down 40 per cent since Modi took charge. Crude oil has been at the epicentre of this commodity meltdown, losing around 55 per cent. Three, new investments in the country slowed down due to over-leveraged balance sheets of companies in the power, steel and infrastructure sectors and over-capacity in some sectors………………………………………..Full Article: Source

OPEC’s strategy to defend market share over prices is working as oil approaches $50 a barrel amid rising demand and declining output from producers including U.S. shale companies, Kuwait’s acting oil minister said.
Oil will end the year at $50 a barrel and the market will rebalance in the third or fourth quarter of the year, Anas Al-Saleh, the acting oil minister, said in an interview Wednesday in Kuwait City. Demand is growing and about 3 million barrels a day of crude supply have been lost due to a drop in global production, he said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Commodities increased in April, driven by positive supply factors and macroeconomic events, according to Credit Suisse Asset Management. The Bloomberg Commodity Index Total Return performance was positive for the month, with 18 out of 22 Index constituents posting gains.
Credit Suisse Asset Management observed the following: Energy was the best performing sector, up 13.43%, led by Brent and WTI Crude Oil. Precious Metals gained 7.26%, led by Silver, amid a weakening U.S. Dollar after the U.S. Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged. Industrial Metals increased 7.18%, led by Nickel. Agriculture gained 7.03%, led by Soybean Meal, as excessive heavy rains in Argentina caused the harvest to be significantly delayed, reducing the production outlook for soybean meal and soybeans. (Press Release)

Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOM) April 2016: Commodities are roaring back and investors are taking note. Soybeans entered a bull market on bad weather in South America. Silver prices have rallied more than any other metal this year after three straight annual losses.
Iron ore jumped above $70 a metric ton and copper is near a one-month high on signs of improving Chinese demand. Vietnam drought boosted coffee prices. Oil is trading near levels not seen in five months as U.S. output dropped to the lowest since October 2014. Put it all together, and the Bloomberg Commodity Index, a measure of returns for 22 commodities, jumped 8.5% in April - the biggest monthly gain since December 2010………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The global gluts that have plagued markets from crude oil to zinc are finally starting to subside, sending commodities to their biggest monthly gain since December 2010. The Bloomberg Commodity Index, a measure of returns for 22 components, climbed as much as 1.1% on Friday to the highest since November.
The gauge climbed 8.5% in April, beating returns for indexes of global equities, highyield and investment grade, bonds, Treasuries and all major currencies. Oil in New York posted the biggest monthly gain in a year, and gold reached the highest in more than a year. The brighter picture for raw materials comes as the economy stabilises in China, the world’s top consumer of metals, grains and energy………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Commodities increased in March, largely driven by decreasing supply expectations and weather fundamentals supporting the energy and agriculture sectors, according to Credit Suisse Asset Management. The Bloomberg Commodity Index Total Return performance was positive for the month, with 17 out of 22 Index constituents posting gains.
Energy was the best performing sector, up 7.84%, led by Brent Crude Oil, due to reports of an upcoming meeting in April among OPEC and non-OPEC nations to discuss a potential cap on production. Natural Gas increased due to continued production declines, which helped improve the outlook for the supply and demand balance. In addition, an unusual cold snap in the U.S. Northeast at the beginning of spring improved demand expectations. (Press Release)

After flirting with recovery in February, New Zealand’s commodities sector took a tumble last month as dairy prices fell further. The basket of commodities tracked by ANZ fell 1.3 per cent in March in US dollar terms, taking a turn for the worse following revised growth of 0.5 per cent in February, adjusted from 0.4 per cent.
Economists had forecast 0.4 per cent growth for the index, and while beef prices saw gains of 3.1% from the previous month, prices for dairy, New Zealand’s, biggest export sector, plummeted 4.5 per cent, with seafood prices piling on more pain with a fall of 1.6 per cent………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Oil declined as rising U.S. crude stockpiles kept supplies at the highest level in more than eight decades. Copper dropped for a fifth day, the longest losing streak since January, amid growing scepticism about demand in China. Most other metals traded lower in London.
However, gold headed for the biggest quarterly advance since September 1990 as demand for haven assets surged to make the metal one of this year’s best performing commodity. BNP Paribas Global Head of Equity Derivative Strategy Edmund Shing discusses commodities with Bloomberg’s Kenneth Hoffman. They joined Anna Edwards on “Countdown.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

In the first half of March, the S&P GSCI Total Return had added 9.6% and staged its biggest comeback ever, gaining 18.8% from its bottom on January 20, 2016. Unfortunately, the index gave up 4.3% since March 17, 2016, losing about half its March gain.
Despite the loss, the index posted its first positive monthly gain of 4.9% (data ending March 30, 2016) since October 2015. March’s commodity return is historically big, and is the biggest March since that in 2006, when the index gained 5.1%………………………………………..Full Article: Source

On a fortnightly basis, global equity markets traded on a mixed as markets discounted the dovish move by the US Federal Reserve who cut its projection for the number of 2016 rate hikes from four to two. The committee also noted that the recent global economic and financial developments have been hampering the economy of the United States which prompted them to leave the borrowing rates unchanged.
Moreover, fear of deflation prompted the European Central Bank President Mario Draghi to introduce a new round of monetary policy easing programme. The ECB raised monthly asset buys to 80 billion Euros from 60 billion Euros and cut its main refinancing rate to zero from 0.05 percent………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The decline in Australia’s export commodity prices was interrupted in February. Commodity prices rose by 1.2 per cent in foreign currency terms in the month, figures from the Reserve Bank of Australia show. The increase in February was driven by gold and iron ore prices, although base metals and rural goods also rose in February, the RBA said.
Despite the small rise, which followed a 0.7 per cent drop in January, the RBA’s commodity price index was still down by 22 per cent from a year earlier and by 55 per cent from the peak in mid-2011………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Gold’s comeback is dominating 2016. The precious metal is the year’s best-performing major asset. Its 16 per cent gain is topping gauges of high-yield and investment grade bonds, Treasuries, all currencies and major stock indexes in developing and emerging countries.
Turmoil across global equity and currency markets has sparked demand for a haven. Speculators raised their net-long position in gold to the highest in a year. SPDR Gold Shares, the world’s largest bullion exchange-traded fund, attracted $4.5 billion of new money in 2016, the most among all US-listed ETFs, according to Bloomberg data as of Feb. 25………………………………………..Full Article: Source