Commodity ETFs were mixed during the latest session, with strength concentrated in agriculture, palladium and selected energy products, while precious metals, mining equities and uranium funds declined sharply.
Oil & Gas: Energy-related ETFs were mixed. Gasoline led the category, with UGA gaining 2.3%, while oil-services funds OIH and XOP rose 0.8% and 0.3%, respectively. Crude-oil products were slightly lower, including USO, UCO and BNO, while natural-gas funds UNG and UNL declined approximately 1%. BOIL fell 2.4%, while inverse natural-gas fund KOLD gained 2.0%. OIH attracted $41.5 million, whereas XOP recorded an $18.5 million outflow.
Energy Sector: Broad energy-equity ETFs posted modest gains, led by XLE at 0.6%, followed by IYE and VDE at approximately 0.5%. Despite the positive performance, XLE experienced a sizable $140.1 million daily outflow, while VDE attracted $30.8 million.
Broad Commodities and Natural Resources: Diversified commodity funds were narrowly mixed. ZSC gained 0.8%, USCI rose 0.5% and HGER advanced 0.3%, while PDBC and DBC slipped approximately 0.2%. Materials and natural-resource equity funds generally underperformed, with IYM down 1.2% and CCNR off 1.1%. HGER led daily inflows with $24.4 million, followed by PDBC with $23.0 million, while XLB recorded a $61.2 million outflow.
Physical and Precious Metals: Precious-metals ETFs declined broadly, with gold funds GLD, IAU, AAAU and BAR falling approximately 3.2%–3.4%. Silver products were weaker, as SLV declined 4.4% and SIVR lost 4.3%, while platinum funds fell about 1.6%. Palladium was the major exception, with PALL gaining 4.9%. GLD experienced the largest outflow in the dataset at $628.6 million, while SLV attracted $30.9 million.
Industrial Metals: Industrial and strategic-metals products were mostly lower. REMX declined 2.3%, platinum fell 1.6%, LIT lost 1.4% and CPER slipped 0.8%. Palladium again stood out with a 4.9% advance. Daily flows were generally limited, although LIT posted a modest outflow.
Mining Equities: Base- and precious-metal miners came under significant pressure. PICK declined 1.4%, COPX fell 2.1%, XME lost 3.5% and SETM dropped 3.7%. Gold- and silver-mining ETFs were similarly weak, with GDX down 3.9%, GDXJ falling 4.4% and SLVP losing 3.9%. Despite the losses, XME attracted $61.5 million and PICK added $43.1 million, while GDXJ recorded a $33.7 million outflow.
Uranium: Uranium ETFs were the session’s weakest category. URA declined 5.8% and URNM fell 7.2%, although both retained monthly gains of approximately 17%. Investors appeared to buy into the pullback, with URNM attracting $34.1 million and URA adding $8.1 million.
Agriculture: Agricultural commodities were the strongest broad category. WEAT surged 2.9%, SOYB gained 1.6%, DBA rose 1.3%, MOO advanced 0.9% and CORN added 0.8%. WEAT also led category inflows with $8.2 million, while DBA attracted $10.1 million. FAAR was the category’s lone notable decliner, falling 0.8%.
Managed Futures: Managed-futures and diversified-strategy ETFs were mixed but relatively stable. DBMF gained 0.6%, HGER rose 0.3% and FTGC advanced 0.2%, while DBC and CMDT declined approximately 0.2%. HGER attracted $24.4 million, PDBC added $23.0 million and BCI received $11.5 million, indicating continued demand for diversified commodity exposure.
Commodity markets opened the week with a mixed but generally firmer tone, led by a sharp rebound in energy prices as renewed military activity between the United States and Iran increased concerns about Middle East supply and shipping disruptions. Oil, refined products and natural gas advanced, while metals were mixed amid a quieter macroeconomic backdrop and cautious equity markets. A slightly weaker U.S. dollar supported portions of the metals complex, although gold eased following its strong monthly advance. Investors are now focused on upcoming U.S. petroleum and natural-gas data, manufacturing and labor-market reports, and the September 6 OPEC-7 meeting.
Oil and Gas Summary: Oil prices rallied strongly, with WTI rising 3.8% to $86.55 per barrel and Brent gaining 3.5% to $91.17 as escalating U.S.-Iran tensions renewed concerns about production and tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Gulf oil exports remain approximately 7–8 million barrels per day below pre-war levels, while another tanker incident and continued regional missile and drone activity added to the risk premium. Refined products also strengthened, with ULSD up 2.9% and October RBOB gaining 1.4%, supported by tight diesel inventories and Russia’s decision to extend its diesel-export ban through September. Natural gas rose 1.1% to $2.921 per MMBtu on forecasts for above-normal temperatures across much of the United States, LNG feedgas demand above 19.2 Bcf per day and lower recent storage injections. European gas prices climbed 4.4% amid Middle East supply concerns, even as Chinese LNG imports were projected to fall 18% year over year in August.
- Oil & Gas Pricing:
- WTI +3.8% to $86.55 (Oct)
- Brent +3.5% to $91.17 (Oct)
- Natural gas +1.1% to $2.921 (Oct)
- RBOB (Sep) hasn’t traded yet Oct is +1.4% to $3.092
- ULSD +2.9% to $4.484 (Sep)
Metals Summary: Metals traded unevenly, with gold declining 0.5% to $4,507.70 per ounce after gaining 11.6% during August, while silver rose 0.3% to $67.98 and remained up 18.2% for the month. Industrial metals were mostly higher: copper advanced 0.4% to $6.688 per pound, aluminum gained 0.3% and nickel rose 1.1%, while zinc fell 0.9%. Copper remained a standout longer-term performer, gaining 5.2% for the month and 17.7% year to date. Gold-mining ETFs were little changed in premarket trading but retained monthly gains exceeding 33%, reflecting substantial recent strength in the mining sector. Corporate developments included progress at Perpetua Resources’ Stibnite gold project, Capstone Copper’s acquisition of additional Chilean copper assets and new drilling results across gold and copper-zinc projects in North America.
- Metals Pricing:
- Gold (0.49)% to $4507.7/oz, Monthly +11.61%, YTD +3.84%:
- Silver +0.28% to $67.975/oz, Monthly +18.16%, YTD (3.72)%:
- Copper +0.44% to $6.688/lb, Monthly +5.17%, YTD +17.71%:
- Aluminum +0.3% to $3222/mt, Monthly +0%, YTD +0%:
- Nickel +1.14% to $16850/mt, Monthly +0%, YTD +0%:
- Zinc (0.9)% to $4070/mt, Monthly +0%, YTD +0%:
- VanEck Gold Miners ETF +0% to $99.65, Monthly +34.28%, YTD +16.18%:
- VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF +0% to $128.8, Monthly +33.09%, YTD +13.2%:
- US Dollar (0.18)% to $99.524, Monthly (1.87)%, YTD +1.22%:
- CBOE Volatility Index +0.38% to $17, Monthly (10.52)%, YTD +2.83%:
