- QU Economics Research Team
Primary Commodities Report for April 29 – May 3
By: Gabriel Kukulka, The Quinnipiac University Economics Research Team
Commodities Index
Source: Yahoo Finance and own calculations. Rates are in United States dollars per one (1) unit of goods. Brent Crude Oil and Natural Gas are measured in barrels, Gold is per ounce, and the ETF is per share. They are all indexed to be at 100 at the start of the period.
During the week of April 29th to May 3rd, there were slight fluctuations observed in the prices of Nickel, Gold, and Brent Crude Oil. Nickel (red) experienced the smallest decrease, falling by only 0.6% overall. Gold (yellow) similarly declined, with a modest decrease of 1.5% by the week’s end. Brent Crude Oil (black) saw the most significant decrease, falling by 7.3% during the week. Natural Gas was the only commodity to see a rise in price, and its increase was notable. Natural Gas (green) had an early-week price increase, followed by a slight dip mid-week, and then a dramatic surge in the final two days, resulting in a total weekly increase of 32.7%.
Commodities Historical Trends
Source: Yahoo Finance and own calculations. Rates are in United States dollars per one (1) unit of goods. Brent Crude Oil and Natural Gas are measured in barrels, Gold is per ounce, and the ETF is per share. The center line is a rolling three-month average. The upper and lower boundaries are the average plus and average minus one standard deviation, respectively, for the same three-month period.
As we enter May, the prices of Natural Gas, Gold, and Nickel are comfortably above the rolling three-month average. This past week, Natural Gas reached a new high in prices for the past three months. After a decline towards the end of April, the first days of May witnessed a surge in Natural Gas prices. Nickel prices remain above one standard deviation heading into May. Gold prices also remain elevated, despite a slight decrease this week. Although they have shown a consistent upward trend over the past three months, prices have slightly declined in the last two weeks. Brent Oil prices continue to decrease, which remains a notable trend.
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