October 2016

Showing recovery resilience on the back of recent multi-year lows in edible commodities, the Bloomberg Commodity TR Index (BCOM) declined 0.5% in October and the spot index gained 0.8%, despite a 2.2% increase in the Bloomberg Dollar Spot index. Energy was an early leader in the month as crude oil rose above $50 per barrel, but livestock and grains stole the show despite the record North American harvest as oil pulled back. Weak precious metals prices on the back of the strong dollar were also a drag on broad index gains. Bucking the strong dollar, most commodities were resilient in October as bonds headed the other way, providing a potential signal to the Fed for further tightening.