Global commodities’ biggest winners and losers this year

The global commodities market has been volatile this year, with prices remaining largely elevated.

Orange juice and cocoa futures surged to record highs in the first half of the year, while crude oil prices fluctuated with headlines from the Middle East. Gold prices continue to rise, but that of base metals like iron ore slipped considerably.

“Thus far, commodity markets have been sentiment-driven and fickle — in continuous search of the smallest inkling of hope to rise to new highs, only to collapse back down with the slightest hint of possible disappointment,” said Sabrin Chowdhury, director and head of commodities analysis at BMI.

The S&P GSCI, a benchmark for the overall commodity market’s performance, rose as much as 12% in April from the start of the year, before tapering off to a 2.18% climb year-to-date.

According to data pulled from FactSet, the commodities making the most gains year-to-date are a select basket of soft commodities that includes cocoa, eggs, orange juice, rubber and coffee.

Analysts told CNBC these commodities saw strong gains as a result of adverse weather in their main production regions.

Cocoa leads the charge as prices jumped 66% so far this year, with futures soaring to an all-time high of $11,722 per metric ton in April amid a bean shortage due to supply disruptions from heavy rains and disease in key producers Ivory Coast and Ghana.

Attracted by the profit-making opportunities, hedge funds piled into the market which made price movements even more volatile, said Darren Stetzel, senior vice president of soft commodities for Asia at brokerage StoneX. 

While prices have tapered from the record highs, cocoa futures still remain above typical levels, with the September contract last trading at $9,150 per metric ton on the U.S. Intercontinental Exchange.

Stetzel said the cocoa market would stabilize as weather conditions in West Africa improve heading into 2025, though he noted prices would be slow to return to the levels before this year’s spike.

Eggs

A recent resurgence of avian influenza in poultry facilities across the U.S., Japan and other nations has caused prices of eggs to jump over 62% per dozen since the start of the year, according to FactSet data. The spot price of a dozen large white eggs currently stand at $3.57, according to FactSet citing the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Commodity Research Bureau.

About 18.5 million egg-laying hens in the U.S. have been affected by the bird flu so far this year. On the demand front, consumers have also been leaning more heavily on eggs as a more affordable source of protein, said Karyn Rispoli, managing editor at market intelligence platform Expana.

Orange juice

Orange juice futures surged to a record in May and is currently hovering around historically high levels of $4.49 per pound on…