Commodities & Futures

China’s effort to boost pork production, and buy more U.S. grain and meat following this year’s U.S.-China trade agreement, are driving a surge of American farm goods across the Pacific.

Poor weather in cotton-producing regions of the U.S. has weighed on production.

The threat of new coronavirus lockdown measures around the world have dragged down raw materials prices, heightening concerns that investments tied to the global economy are set for another painful selloff.

The industrial metal, seen as a proxy for global growth, has surged on stronger demand and anticipation that the world’s transition to electric vehicles will drive further consumption.

The price rise comes as investors bet strong Chinese buying and improving industrial demand will see the metal catch up with its base-metal peers.

Power plants started to burn more thermal coal over the summer and fall, responding to a steep rise in the price of natural gas.

The world is burning through the oil supply glut that threatened to cripple the energy industry a few months ago, but spiraling coronavirus infection numbers are putting the recovery in jeopardy, the IEA said.

Wheat prices have hit their highest level in over five years in response to record hot, dry weather in growing regions and global food insecurity exacerbated by the pandemic and the lockdowns imposed to fight it.

Sugar prices hit their highest level since early March on Tuesday, lifted by supply disruptions. But a new wave of lockdowns and elevated production from heavyweight Brazil threaten to dull the sugar high.

The industrial metal has risen about 8% for the year and recovered roughly 40% in the past six months following an early-year selloff.

This year ranks as one of the best on record for investors in the precious metal. Its climb is fueling skeptics’ assertions that the arc of financial history points toward the inevitable debasement of currencies like the dollar.

People around the world are cooped up and they’re drinking more tea, but supplies are tightening and prices are on the rise.

Farmers are known to pray for rain. Now they can hedge against unanswered invocations. CME Group and Nasdaq are planning to launch a futures contract later this year that will allow farmers, speculators and others to wager on the price of water.

A startup, Diamond Standard Co., aims to open the diamond market to investors through standardized coins containing a carefully selected sample of the precious stones.

Shares of the companies that mine or make raw materials are lately trading like once-hot technology stocks. The S&P 500’s materials sector is up around 5.4% this month, even as the broader index has fallen more than 4%.

A key cash crop for U.S. farmers, soybeans fell 16% to start the year before heavy Chinese buying spurred a rebound. Soybean prices have risen more than 15% since the start of August.

Oil prices climbed, after unexpectedly upbeat U.S. inventory numbers extended a rally that began Tuesday.

Natural-gas prices have surged in Europe, offering good news for exporters that invested in infrastructure for shipping it over the past decade, only to contend with a collapse in sales when the pandemic struck.

September lumber futures closed Friday at $948 per thousand board feet, eclipsing the previous high, but prices are likely to fall back to earth.