Stocks Got You Down? Look At Commodities…
Last week was ugly for stocks.
The Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 all fell over 2% as investors fretted about valuations, geopolitics, and the oncoming earnings season. This month’s downdraft has the major indexes in the red for the year.
But commodities are still holding strong…
In fact, the Reuters/Jeffries CRB Index just jumped to another 52-week high. With the recent gains, the commodity benchmark is up a solid 10% in 2014.
Take a look…
As you can see, the CRB is off to a very strong start this year. What assets have the commodity index acting like raging bull?
Let’s find out…
Coffee
The luscious bean is stealing headlines once again. Coffee was the leading performer last week with an 8.8% gain. Investors are realizing Brazilian drought worries are far from over. Last week’s rally has this commodity holding onto a stunning 81% gain on the year.
Orange Juice
OJ is on the move higher thanks to a recent USDA report. The government agency revealed Florida’s citrus crop will likely plunge to 110 million boxes this year- the lowest since 1985.
As you may remember from this article, Florida’s citrus trees are suffering from greening disease. Tiny gnat-like insects are causing fruits to drop from the tree early, making them inedible.
The fundamental development has OJ prices up nearly 18% on the year.
Natural Gas
Natural gas jumped 4.5% last week when the EIA revealed US storage levels rose by a mere 4 bcf. While it was the first inventory build of the year, it was far below analyst estimates of a 10 bcf build.
No doubt about it, this commodity is being closely watched by energy experts…
The natural gas market needs the biggest summer injection season in history to get US inventories back to acceptable Fall levels near 3.6 tcf.
But if we get a hot summer, there’s a very good chance natural gas inventories fall short. In such a scenario, we will likely see a sustained upward trend for natural gas prices into next winter.
Crude Oil
The situation in the Ukraine is upsetting the oil market. The commodity is rising to test multi-month highs near $105 as violence in Eastern Ukraine swells. Given the current situation, it’s likely Russia pushes into Eastern Ukraine cities on the premise of protecting Russian-speaking citizens.
Unfortunately, it appears this region is on the verge of civil war.
What does this situation have to do with oil?
Russia is one of the largest oil and gas producers in the world. If the US and Europe apply sanctions on Russia due to its involvement in the Ukraine, it could take a hefty amount of supply off global markets.
Folks, it’s growing quite clear commodities are the place to be this year…
The gainers above are just a few of the assets moving strongly higher on the year. And the best part is, well-positioned investors stand to make hefty profits from these moves.
As a matter of fact, subscribers to my flagship options trading service, Options Profit Pipeline, are watching one of our holdings skyrocket 448% this morning. If you’d like to discover how to rake in ridiculous profits on commodities and resource-based stocks, click here.
Until Next Time,
Justin Bennett
Category: Coffee, Commodity Trading, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Orange Juice
