Commodities

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In a month of bullish investor sentiment, commodity prices rose virtually across the board. Fuel commodities dominated the headlines amid a sharp rise in the oil price, with the cost of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate Crude increasing from US$51 to US$66 per barrel. With the exception of aluminium, which fell 4.4% over the month, industrial metal prices continued to rise, with nickel (+19%) and lead (+18.2%) leading the field, followed by zinc and copper, both up 9.3%. It was a similar story for the precious metals, with silver gaining 26.7% while gold rose 9.8%. Meanwhile, coffee and wheat ended the month as the top performing soft commodities, both gaining over 18% in May.