Commodities touch every facet of our lives as the raw materials that compose our homes, food, entertainment and much more. Trading commodities allow investors to take advantage of economic trends, shifts in supply and demand, and even changes in the weather. Commodities are typically broken into two categories: hard commodities and soft commodities. Hard commodities are typically viewed as natural resources that must be mined or extracted from the earth, such as oil, gold and copper. Soft commodities are generally agricultural products and livestock. Within those two main categories, you can easily see some smaller categories. For example, precious metals are popular commodities on the exchanges. Be sure to explore all our articles regarding opportunities in commodities.
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If you don’t know the Law of the Vital Few, you should. Also known as the 80/20 rule, it states that 80% of an effect comes from 20% of the causes. Managers are very familiar with this law. Their top few workers deliver the lion’s share of results. Economists point to the fact that a […]
It’s a market of wild swings, powerful trends and enough overshoot to make Evel Knievel blush. Oil just logged its largest one-day drop in three years. That comes after a 21% slide in just 28 trading days. That is on the heels of oil’s 75% bull market rally since June 2017. Surprisingly, there is one […]
While 2018 has proved challenging to most precious metals, palladium is offering a strong performance in the second half of the year.
After all the chest-thumping, the Iran sanctions passed with a whimper. Lots of talk … zero teeth. Now the market has too much oil.
For some reason, the world seems to take Saudi Arabia at its word that it will produce more oil. The problem is, the kingdom can’t do it.
Uranium, the fuel for nuclear reactors, found itself in the throes of a nearly decade-long bear market. Now prices are up 40% this year.
Trade war fears will fade, at least for a little while. Investors will seek bargains. And this will be one of the industries that investors snap up.
With fall in the air, hedge funds have winter on their minds. Low natural gas stores are shaping up to be one of their biggest holiday bets.
Over the past two months, the S&P 500 fell 4%, while the gold price rose nearly 4%. That’s a warning sign. The first shot of the coming war…
“Gold bugs” came into 2018 hopeful that this would be a comeback year. What followed was a year of defeat. Gold fell nearly 6%.
This chart of gold and stocks suggests participants are rethinking the bull market. The longer they doubt, the more likely market behavior gets nasty.
Fresh money is flowing into crude oil and energy exchange-traded funds (ETFs). That’s encouraging for crude oil bulls. But I’m worried.
Few were predicting higher oil prices. Savvy investors knew that this pessimism would be short-lived. Prices went on to rally 21% in six weeks.
The copper market is in deficit. That means there is more demand than supply. And that condition will continue for the next few years.
Gold made a new low in August. The U.S. dollar made a new high. Prices are warning of a possible sentiment shift that will fuel gold’s next rally.
“Record supplies” is all that needs to be said to turn off most resource speculators. But the story here is not as straightforward as it seems.
Base and precious metals are likely to stay near their recent lows until resolution for the U.S.-China trade war appears.
Mines take several years to develop and bring into production. That’s why Chinese miners are positioning themselves for long-term success.
While the disruption in soy is well-covered by the media, the knock-on effects of the trade war will breathe new life into the struggling sugar sector.
Hurricane Florence is one of the strongest storms to threaten the Eastern Seaboard in decades. However, there will be a silver lining for some.
Right now, gold is out of favor. It may become even more out of favor by the end of the year. But my hunch is that we just got a bullish “soft” signal.
Last year, the media was calling for the next bear market in oil. The last thing on most people’s mind was a 50% rally. But that’s exactly what happened.
Lithium prices in China are tanking. Prices are down nearly 50% since the first quarter. That is echoing through world markets.
Gold is set to enter its next major bull market, just like it did back in 2002 when speculators we’re also extremely bearish.
Iran exported 2.2 million barrels of oil per day in July. That’s far more oil than Russia, Saudi Arabia or the U.S. can replace when sanctions begin.
Today, gold traders are fleeing because prices keep falling. But the best time to buy gold is after fear drives prices down to bargain-basement levels.
Time and again, gold has proven to be one of the few investments that survives, even thrives, during times of economic uncertainty.
We call the hedge funds the “dumb” money because they are the ones making bets. Now the dumb money is at a 25-year extreme … and we can profit from it.
While analysts worry that demand for railway services may wane due to the trade war, higher oil prices suggest otherwise.
Gold is a great hedge against inflation. And right now, gold is unloved and on sale. For contrarian investors, this is the perfect buying opportunity.
The Italians use gold as an insurance policy against catastrophe. And when the country joined the EU, it triggered an emergency. The lira plummeted in value, but gold did not.
We need to understand Wall Street’s take on copper before we know whether this is an opportunity to invest or a warning to get out.
Looking at the fundamentals surrounding oil can be difficult. Instead, I rely on the charts, which show that oil is at a critical level right now.
All eyes are on the trade war waging between the U.S. and China, but there’s an even bigger crisis brewing in the Middle East that’s going to hit your wall in way we haven’t seen since 2008.
The last time commodities were the best-performing asset class for an entire year was 2002. That’s when the last commodity bull market cycle began.
Oil demand isn’t going away anytime soon. In fact, it’s growing. And producers have to find those additional supplies somewhere.
When prices become unaffordable, they’ll come down. And this week, traders got another reason to second-guess the world’s appetite for high-priced crude oil.
Monitoring the large speculators is not a precise timing indicator. But it’s a valuable piece of information to determine when it’s the right time to bet against the crowd.
In November 2016, OPEC announced cuts to oil production. Now, a year and a half after the production cuts, the organization has accomplished its goal.
So far, commodities have lived up to our expectations through the first five months. However, they should perform even better through the rest of the year.
I’m comforted by the fact the mainstream financial press isn’t talking about gold. Because, by many measures, an investment in gold looks like a sure thing right now.
As oil prices rise, investors are jumping into oil stocks. However, there’s a good reason why we do not own any oil-producing companies in the Real Wealth Strategist newsletter right now.
Some see oil prices continuing to climb throughout 2018. That may be the case by the end of the year, but for now, oil prices are set to take a dip lower.
Uranium production for the first quarter of 2018 is down 50% from a year prior. Tightening supply and higher demand hint at higher prices, but the market still has a way to go.
The price of oil is nearly 200% higher today than it was at the bottom in 2016. And we could easily see oil prices spike to $100 per barrel on bad news.
Gains in oil seem like a natural response to any action against Iran. But as this chart shows, oil is now at an extreme level only seen in bubbles.
This monumental shift will be the most dramatic in over 100 years, maybe even more so than when ships switched from coal to oil.
As I sat among some of the smartest geologists, analysts and fund managers in the mining sector, it really hit home. The copper market is going to boom.
While oil has more than doubled in price in the last two years, this essential part of the oil industry has actually seen a slight decline.
I believe gold is on the cusp of a major breakout higher. However, gold prices are entering their bearish prime season, and a short-term pullback is likely in the cards.
Over the last couple of weeks, we discussed two reasons for the rising oil price. However, there is another source of anxiety in the oil market.
For thousands of years, gold was money. More important, the world still views gold as an insurance policy against financial troubles.
In the next few years, the big capital investment money is headed toward offshore oil exploration and production in a big way.
On May 12, the oil market will face a critical test. If the result goes one way, we could see higher oil prices … potentially much higher.
The next big natural resource story isn’t some exotic metal like cobalt or palladium. It’s much more simple and important.
When oil companies begin to spend on expansion, it’s a sign that they believe there are bright prospects in the oil industry for growth.
With talks of the U.S. losing in trade deals, there is a surprising victory with our southern neighbor. To understand why, we have to take a couple steps back…
Consumers will spend more this year on Easter thanks to a hidden cost in their grocery bill.
This metal is another victim of the Trump trade wars. But unlike some others, the market is wrong on this, and you can profit.
Most of us have to buy gas, so there’s nothing we can do about the higher gas prices. But there is a way to offset them.
The U.S. continues to be a juggernaut of oil production. But there is a problem with our oil that no one is talking about.
I’m going to outline a pocket of strength that will endure and even flourish in these changing market conditions. And it comes from the much-maligned oil sector.
The lithium supercycle is stoked by the electric vehicle (EV) mega trend. But every forecast for EV adaption has been too low. I can’t emphasize this enough. Every. Single. One.
Oil shale production is growing like crazy now. But knowing why shale drilling stocks are flailing is crucial to understanding why oil prices will keep moving higher.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will attribute increases in the oil price to its production cuts. But that’s a lie … the truth is much darker.
The popularity of diesel cars spiked with the promise of clean emissions. That was until 2015, when Volkswagen admitted to lying about its diesel cars’ emissions.
There is something brewing in the precious metals market. I’ve got that for you today, as well as a must-see video with a silver miner.
Recent plans to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports have economists worried. But this isn’t the first tariff announcement in recent months.
New industries can potentially redefine the way we live. But there’s been a disruptor in the energy sector that’s been largely overlooked: U.S. shale oil production.
A major bull market went unnoticed in the noise of lithium and cobalt prices rocketing in 2017. Its price is soaring too, with less fanfare.
As metal prices rose, so did the profits of major mining companies. And they are using the money for exactly the right thing today.
The recent 10% drop over a couple days has some investors looking for a new place to park their cash. Mining stocks might be the place.
The market pundits are telling you to get bearish on oil and energy stocks. Follow that advice only if you like losing money.
We’ve had nearly four years of low gasoline prices. However, we’re paying more for gasoline now, on a relative basis, than we did back in 2008.
Silver is less expensive than gold. But sometimes the relationship between gold and silver gets out of whack. I believe today is one of those times…
I attended a gathering of CEOs and other executives of up-and-coming explorers, developers and miners. Today, I’m going to show you two of the best.
Most investors hate stocks of oil producers today. But oil producers are going to have a great year in 2018. We can too … if we buy shares soon.
There is one standout this year that could easily weather a government shutdown and a stock market sell-off, and that’s gold.
The squeeze in lithium supply is acute. The price of lithium has increased threefold since 2014. And on Tuesday, somebody stepped on the gas again.
Now that people are OK with investing in oil again, the buyers who were scared out before are buying back in to catch the rally.
The price of this commodity went up 17% in 2017. That’s only the third time prices have gone higher in the past decade, and it’s also the biggest gain in seven years.
The price of silver is up 10% in three weeks. That’s unusual for silver right now. The last time it rose 10% in three weeks was almost a year ago.
In 2017, the S&P 500 had a “perfect year,” in which it rose nearly 20%. However, three unloved and overlooked metals beat that performance soundly.
The cold snap has a lot of investors focusing on natural gas prices again, and whether or not to buy the rally the price has experienced over the last few weeks.
You will spend this year hearing about how much more expensive all our “stuff” will become thanks to rising commodity prices. Everything is going to go up.
There is a formula for rising prices — demand must exceed supply. And in 2018, a different metal’s price will begin its rise.
The Baltic Dry Index, which is a benchmark of shipping rates around the world, hit a four-year high. And that’s great news for natural resources.
The price of oil just hit its highest point since July 2015. That’s really helping the one sector of the oil patch that we should be watching now.
There is a disconnect between the market and a major source of dividend income for investors — MLPs, or master limited partnerships.
From 2000 through 2010, U.S. exports of refined oil products grew by nearly 160%. But according to the data, we export nearly five times that much now.
Remember, a good natural resource investor is a contrarian. And all of the data points us toward platinum as the metal to own right now.
Copper has enjoyed a stellar rally for more than a year, but its far from over as a rising new tech will increase demand for the metal.
The WTI crude oil price just hit its highest price in 2 1/2 years. We need to know what’s driving it to decide if we should buy some oil producers.
If the electric car market explodes, as most analysts believe, copper demand will as well. Tesla can’t make electric cars without copper…
Saudi Arabia does a masterful job of talking the price of oil higher. And without ever taking any action, that has had an impact on oil prices.
On October 8, Kobe Steel admitted to quality-control fraud on its metal products. And make no mistake: This scandal will deepen.
Zinc has delivered solid gains — such as 50% and 60% — in just the last five months. But no one is talking about this essential metal.
You would think that if the world is on the brink of going electric, that should mean less need for palladium. But that hasn’t been the case.
This metal hit a record low in November 2015. It was the cheapest it’s been since the bottom of the last bear market. And now the price is soaring.
Investors are worried about a potential drop in oil demand but the lithium bull market is providing even bigger profits right now.
The price of lumber is up 10% since Harvey hit in August. That’s sending timber companies’ shares soaring.
When a bull market comes to natural resources, it’s a constant source of worry. The truth is, no bull market goes straight up.
As Hurricane Irma approached Florida, traders looked for possible gains in orange juice. But the smart money was selling orange juice instead of buying.
Oil prices have been stuck around $50 a barrel since they collapsed in 2014. But oil may now be finding a bottom and heading higher.
The thing you should be worried about is if your portfolio is prepared, whether the top happens tomorrow or in six months…
The supply of oil is still well above its five-year average. But for the first time in a long time, it’s time to focus on the oil sector.
There is an uptrend that’s forming in one of my personal favorite commodities. And the trends line up for a double-digit move in the short term.
Someday we’ll look back and say this event scrambled the global economic order … and put gold center stage in the geopolitical spotlight once again.
The meteoric rise in lithium prices spurred a massive interest in the metal. Companies sprang up all over the world. And they found lithium. Lots of it.
When you have a major South Florida hurricane, the price of oranges goes up. And that’s just one of the many impacts a hurricane has on the markets.
Prices are up all over the U.S. from this time last year. However, we are still paying far less for gasoline today than we did for most of the last decade.
When the price of gold moves in one direction across a basket of currencies, then we can find the direction of the actual gold market.
In the 21st century, an army needs more than food and ammunition. Modern armies need vast amounts of oil to win.
This metal just hit its highest price since 2007. That’s why it’s one of my favorite investment ideas.
For all the hate that gets piled on gold, it continues to be a hedge against volatility. Don’t believe me? Check out the gold holdings of these countries…
Investors want Uber and Google, not cotton and wheat. They want Apple, not apples. Food is boring. Now that sentiment has hit an unusual extreme.
I have been watching the price of gold closely. And I couldn’t help but notice that we are on the cusp of a new multiyear rally for the precious metal.
I’m going to tell you a secret about oil. It shows why oil companies are tanking … and what we can expect from oil prices for at least the next year.
There is a clear downward trend in the seasonal pattern for this commodity that is set to last until the end of the year.
Matt Badiali has been spot-on in his bullishness on copper. In the past few years, the supply of this important metal has moved from oversupply to shortage.
Gold offers a way to diversify your wealth. The real question is, what’s a safe, secure, cost-efficient way to own precious metals?
The collapse of oil prices has convinced many investors that U.S. oil is dead. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
I want to pass along what I believe is the single best story in mining today: the underinvestment in critical metals.
The 10-year seasonal uptrend started on July 9, and, like clockwork, prices jumped. But I’m still short gold prices. Here’s why…
The price of corn is heading higher thanks to record heat, lower production estimates and record ethanol production.
The headlines are clear: Oil will never be able to pull out of this bear market. But there are some bullish investors in the market.
Lots of energy stories have a grim outlook. But if anything, the picture for oil prices at $60 or higher by year’s end is only brighter than it was before.
You cannot just pack up a gold mine when trouble starts. New political regimes, new laws, heavier taxes and wars have all destroyed mining companies in the past.
Demand for lithium is projected to skyrocket. And that poses a problem for the lithium market … and an opportunity for investors.
Our favorite sweetener is in a major bear market, and that could prove troubling for sugar producers such as the Canadian company Rogers Sugar.
Beware, there are roaming gangs of criminals stealing … copper.
Oil exploration companies are getting pounded by lower oil prices. However, this area of the oil industry is making money.
U.S. net petroleum imports fell under 4 million barrels per day in April and again in May. That’s the lowest point since we began keeping records in 1991.
This resource is probably the stealthiest bull market in the world. Its performance since 2009 beats every other metal out there…
One of the most common questions I get is: What should I buy today — silver or gold? Right now, I have a clearer answer for you than I usually do.
Thanks to the shale revolution, natural gas production soared. By 2012, the U.S. edged out Russia to become the world’s largest producer of natural gas.
Gold has always been subject to speculative frenzies, of course. But never has the market been subjected to such extremes of buying and selling.
Gold is the one natural resource that confounds most investors. That unpredictability makes investing in gold miners even more difficult.
I’m not the only one who believes it’s time to get a little more physical with our wealth. Many investors are adding physical gold to their assets.
The platinum supply is running out … but the market doesn’t care. Platinum has lost ground to gold consistently since 2008.
This week, I thought I’d dig around in our Sovereign Investor Daily mailbag to see what thoughts and questions readers have for us.
When you ignore big profits from sheer bullheadedness, that’s a problem. I always follow the data … which is why I’m going to discuss the bull market in lithium.
Engineers didn’t believe fracking would work on oil strata. Fortunately, American petroleum engineers made the leap, and U.S. oil production soared.
I’ve noticed that many folks assume gold to be money. It isn’t … and that makes an enormous difference when it comes to wealth management strategies…
Zinc is essential for a healthy body, but its uses go far beyond that. This metal contains a host of unique qualities that means demand is set to soar…
The market got everything OPEC promised: a nine-month extension of oil production cuts. So why are oil prices still falling? Let me show you…
We seem to have forgotten about gold in the U.S., where we saw a 46% decline in bullion coin sales this year. But in the U.K. they can’t buy enough of the stuff.
In 2016, diesel vehicles sales fell to their lowest volume in seven years. That led to an unexpected bull market … in palladium.
Every time you look at a chart, you can see something different. And I came across one recently that is signaling gold is about to break out.
As I said in the first article I wrote for Winning Investor Daily, its price volatility makes silver a great metal for speculation.
The critical moment for oil will be the announcement after OPEC’s meeting. If OPEC doesn’t reach a deal — a real possibility — then oil prices will plummet.
Gold is an investment linked to crisis. Gold buyers are telling us they’re worried. Political risks dominate Europe … and investors are turning to gold.
In 2010, a wave of greed ripped through the mining investment community. Every stock tout in the business began crowing about a coming boom.
There is a natural hedge for a falling U.S. dollar, and, if you haven’t already, it’s high time you took a closer look at investing in gold.
A critical subgroup of the oil industry has been left for dead. We should make double- or even triple-digit gains as its stocks catch up with reality…
Cocoa prices are near an eight-year low. And as a natural resource investor, this kind of situation is a dream come true.
The seeds are being sown for an offshore oil revival. In essence, the idea is to automate as much as possible and cut out as much human labor as possible.
I expect the market price for gold to begin to rally in anticipation of a hyperdeflationary resolution of history’s greatest orgy of debt.
Ethanol ruins gasoline, but it has spurred a huge windfall for corn farmers. Today we have an investment opportunity in this once-beloved Midwestern staple.
I’m going to tell you a couple of secrets about fracking that most people don’t know or understand. And one of those secrets could make you a lot of money.
Commodities — such as oil, gold, sugar, coffee and timber — offer an avenue for investing that can offer great profits if you’re right about the timing.
To understand what’s going on in today’s oil market (and to suss out what will happen next), we need to go back a few years…
Gold can be a fantastic hedge against inflation, geopolitical uncertainty, irresponsible banks, the Federal Reserve and even many black swan events.
Cotton plants are useful for a multitude of things. And right now, cotton fiber is in a bull market, with room for us to make money.
Silver is a great metal for speculators if you can stomach the volatility … or if you’ve got someone in the know when it comes to natural resources.
You don’t need to head to the rolling hills of the U.K. with a metal detector to make a profit in rare coins. There’s a much easier way to grow your wealth.
We’ve seen a rise in the use of renewable energy as it becomes cheaper. And it’s ensuring that massive changes are coming to the energy industry…
De Beers sold us on the idea that diamonds are a measurement of love and commitment. But diamonds continue to be a great store of wealth, much like gold.
Fortunately, we don’t need The Prospector’s Handbook to achieve our goals. All we have to do is read the words of Matt Badiali, Banyan Hill’s newest editor…
Gold is seen as more trustworthy than any paper currency. And not only is gold alive and kicking, but it needs to play an important role in your portfolio.
I’ve spent countless hours analyzing weather patterns, and one thing is apparent: They indicate opportune times to invest and generate profits.
Wall Street seems to think that America’s shale industry will be able to save us from higher oil prices in the months and years ahead. But with shale oil production shutting down, that seems like a long shot…
If you were waiting on the sidelines after this year’s monster rally, this may be your last chance to buy gold and gold mining stocks at these prices…
The European Union is headed for meltdown with the failure of the Italian referendum vote. Many votes are still ahead and this spells trouble for U.S.
The damage from the oil war with OPEC lies all over America’s shale-oil regions. With the cartel set to cut production, America’s shale-oil producers will be hard pressed to catch up.
Oil is dead … according to the media heralding electric vehicles and the growth of wind and solar energy. Don’t believe it. In fact, we may be entering a new golden era for oil investing.
Commodities have shown signs of life this year, but are still viewed as an underperforming asset class. And that perception is exactly why it’s worth looking at this sector right now.
What does it mean to “own” something? It’s a question every investor should be asking … especially if that something is gold.
A year ago, mining companies were in the midst of the “Great Dividend Cut.” But dividends are back, and that’s good news not just for stock investors, but for gold prices as well.
Black gold’s roller-coaster ride has been frustrating for many investors. But cost-saving decisions made over the past couple years are going to send oil roaring back in a big way.
There’s a reason oil is called black gold. And in spite of worries of a bear market, there’s a second chance to invest in oil … and be well rewarded.
Gold mining stocks have posted big gains, but there may be more on the horizon. When the odds are in your favor, you have to make the bet. You have to take the initiative and go for it.
Counterfeiting has been around for centuries. It’s big business. But with the recent discovery of fake gold bars bearing a highly respected mark, where you buy has become more important than what you buy.
Reports of gold’s death have been greatly exaggerated. Despite recent profit-taking, gold is still up more than 20% this year. And it is likely to remain a hot ticket in 2016 as the global market struggles…
Don’t believe anything saying a rate hike is on the table in July. It’s not. The U.S. won’t see meaningfully higher rates for many years. The sooner you accept this, the sooner you can avoid financial ruin.
There’s a reason why copper is sometimes called “Dr. Copper.” The price of copper indicates the health of the economy — and according to the most recent prices, our economy’s about to flatline…
We are only five months into 2016, and sales of gold coins at the U.S. Mint have nearly doubled. Demand for physical gold is soaring, and even the Fed will have trouble slowing its ascent.
Don’t believe the media, oil consumption is not declining — it’s rising. But oil exploration budgets have been cut, and a supply shortfall is looming on the horizon.
The growing concern over the well-being of American corporate revenue underscores the need for portfolio diversification. It’s more important than ever to have exposure to commodities.
Gold bullion is an excellent way to protect your wealth during a market crisis. But acquiring and storing bullion outside the U.S. has long been a problem … until now.
Buy stocks when they’re cheap. It’s one of the tenets of many hedge fund strategies. And right now, gold mining stocks are cheap … 12-year-low cheap.
It’s an investment you’ve likely not heard about, but big-money investors have, and they routinely seek it out for high-level returns. So, what is this investment? Timber.
Shifts in economic growth and weather patterns threaten to decimate world food production … leading to soaring commodity prices and potential food riots.
Declining silver supply and rising demand have created an incredible opportunity in the precious-metals market. It’s a trade where the odds are in your favor.
When a financial firm like Munich Re starts vaulting gold and griping about monetary policy, you have to believe that they might be on to something serious.
With fiat currencies headed toward failure, and central banks desperate to avoid catastrophe, it’s time to ask yourself: What is gold really worth?
Oil prices are low for now, but demand is rising in China, India and the U.S., and refiners are already in “max gasoline mode.” One thing’s certain, out of sync oil means profit … if you’re prepared.
Gold coin sales are surging. Don’t miss your chance to count your blessings and get in on this limited time investment opportunity.
The world’s silver supply is shrinking. Not only is less of the precious metal being mined, but fewer people are selling their scrap silver. With so little supply, but growing demand, prices are bound to jump.
Saudi Arabia is living like there’s no tomorrow, but they’re headed for trouble. Oil prices are plummeting, and according to experts, they may have further to fall…
