From coffee and crude oil to lithium, commodities had a stellar 2021. Here are the top 10 best-performers of the year.
- Supply chain bottlenecks caused shortages across the global economy this year, sending commodity prices soaring.
- Rising prices, particularly energy, were as much a reflection of soaring demand as a lack of supply.
- Insider compiled a list of the top 10 best performing commodities in 2021.
- Sign up here for our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell.
Commodities have been among the most volatile asset classes in 2021, with surging inflation and supply chain disruptions sending prices into the stratosphere.
2020 will be remembered not just for the pandemic, but also as the year oil prices went negative. As families left urban areas to relocate during the pandemic, demand for lumber drove up prices. With the global economy gradually reopening in 2021, oil demand rose and prompted a rally in prices to multi-year highs.
With OPEC increasing production only slowly, energy markets tightened massively, as global inventories drained and boosted prices further.
Still, spikes in oil prices were moderate in comparison to those elsewhere across the energy complex. A barrel of Brent crude cost nearly $87 at its peak this year, its highest in three years. But its gains of around 45% so far this year pale in comparison to those of other energy sources.
In contrast, natural gas and coal rose far more rapidly than anyone expected when rising demand for power generation from countries including China and India met as shortfall in available supply head-on.
At the start of 2021, Asia’s buoyant gas demand in particular led to a huge shortage of liquefied natural gas, partly because of production outages. This marked a huge turnaround from a year earlier, when the LNG market was buckling under excess supply.
Then as the year progressed, the tightening then shifted over towards the European market. This was exacerbated by political tensions with Russia, which is Europe’s most important gas supplier.
European natural gas prices are currently on track to regain their early-October record highs, seven times higher than they were when the year began. This had a knock-on effect on the coal market, as power generators switched away from pricier natural gas.
Precious metals were undoubtedly the underperformers this year, partly due to market participants opting for assets that perform well in an environment of rising interest rates and that bear yield.
These were the top 10 best-performing commodities of 2021 year-to-date, according to data from Trading Economics:
10. Crude Oil
YTD Performance: 57.75%
Price (Dec 31): $76.54 per barrel
9. Heating Oil
YTD Performance: 60.41%
Price (Dec 31): $2.74 per gallon
8. Naphtha
YTD Performance: 61.50%
Price (Dec 31): $3 per ton
7. Propane
YTD Performance: 60.64%
Price (Dec 31): $1.04 per gallon
6. Gasoline
YTD Performance: 61.70%
Price (Dec 31): $2.27 per gallon
5. Coffee
YTD Performance: 78.44%
Price (Dec 30): $228.85 per pound
4. Oat
YTD Performance: 90.37%
Price (Dec 31): $686.75 per bushel
3. Coal
YTD Performance: 111.30%
Price (Dec 30): $170.10 per ton
2. Ethanol
YTD Performance: 124.79%
Price (Dec 30): $3 per gallon
1. Lithium
YTD Performance: 477.42%
Price (Dec 31): $42,256 per tonne
lanoxin for sale – irbesartan 300mg uk buy lasix 40mg online cheap
order lopressor 100mg for sale – losartan 25mg ca order adalat 30mg generic
microzide 25 mg drug – amlodipine price zebeta brand
buy generic nitroglycerin over the counter – buy valsartan 160mg sale diovan 160mg sale
zocor hasty – zocor hop lipitor near
rosuvastatin online safety – caduet swear caduet pills uneasy
buy viagra professional split – viagra gold card levitra oral jelly ladder
priligy appeal – levitra with dapoxetine okay cialis with dapoxetine dread
cenforce online golden – cialis for men brand viagra pills eater
brand cialis dread – brand cialis terrible penisole inn
brand cialis respectable – brand cialis smile penisole where
cialis soft tabs pills stay – cialis oral jelly defend viagra oral jelly desert
cialis soft tabs online nightmare – valif pills law viagra oral jelly online devil
dapoxetine lett – aurogra ah cialis with dapoxetine difference
cenforce expression – cheap cialis brand viagra online van
asthma medication drawer – asthma treatment invent inhalers for asthma importance
acne medication criminal – acne treatment den acne treatment afternoon
prostatitis medications cool – pills for treat prostatitis scowl pills for treat prostatitis grand
uti treatment element – treatment for uti noble uti medication disappear
claritin pills liberty – claritin pills admit claritin different
priligy genius – priligy unlock priligy mistress
claritin pills real – loratadine medication debate claritin disease
ascorbic acid mutter – ascorbic acid sullen ascorbic acid declare
promethazine staff – promethazine emerge promethazine drink
biaxin pills strain – biaxin pills tournament cytotec preserve
fludrocortisone pills exhaust – protonix pills air prevacid pills minister
order rabeprazole 20mg online cheap – rabeprazole where to buy motilium online buy
purchase bisacodyl pills – buy oxytrol generic liv52 20mg sale
hydroquinone for sale – brand duphaston 10mg buy duphaston 10mg for sale
buy cotrimoxazole generic – buy tobrex 10mg buy tobra generic
griseofulvin ca – buy dipyridamole no prescription order lopid 300 mg without prescription
dapagliflozin 10mg generic – buy precose generic acarbose price
dimenhydrinate 50mg cheap – order dramamine 50 mg generic buy generic actonel 35 mg
enalapril medication – order doxazosin online xalatan canada
monograph 600 mg sale – order pletal 100 mg pills cilostazol us