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Commodities Forge Record-Setting Rally as BP to Miners Surge
Commodities are forging a record-setting run of gains that straddles the end of 2017 and the start of the new year as crude oil notches multiyear highs and investors bet that synchronized global economic growth will help to sustain rising demand.
The Bloomberg Commodity Index, which tracks returns on 22 raw materials, posted an unprecedented 14 days of gains to Wednesday, closing at the highest since February. After recovering from an early dip on Thursday, the gauge was up 0.2 percent as Brent and West Texas Intermediate rose along with metals.
Commodities eked out a second annual gain last year and heading into 2018 banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are optimistic there will be further advances, with the firm last month maintaining its 12-month overweight recommendation. The rise in recent days has also been aided by the vicious cold snap in the U.S., which helped to boost wheat as well as natural gas.
Since mid-June, the Bloomberg Commodity Index has rebounded 12 percent, although it remains well down on highs in 2008. The recovery in energy helped the measure post back-to-back quarterly gains in the final six months of 2017. The current winning run tops the previous record of 11, which was set in 2005.