Commodity price data

The Central Bank
#1

Anyone know where i could get commodity price data from the start of the year, so I can calculate ytd returns?

tia

#2

There is a number of indices used in the market. They vary in the weghiting they give to various commodites and the breadth of coverage. This gives very different returns.

Two of the most commonly used are:

Dow Jones - AIG
djindexes.com/mdsidx/index.c … DataCharts

And S&P Goldmans Sachs:
www2.standardandpoors.com/portal … 0,0,0.html

If you have access to a financial data service (bloomberg etc.) you should be able to access more current data.

#3

Is there a source of data for individual commodities, such as corn. heating oil etc?

#4

Those links might contain returns for sub-groups. Outside that go to Bloomberg or the FT or similar web sites for commodity price data.

But realise that returns from commodities is obtained by investing via futures contracts that provide for returns from rolling contracts and carry, not just changes in the spot or physical price.

#5

if you go the exchange websites that these futures trade on www.nymex.com ( for energy) they will have the data for free

#6

Maybe I’m looking in the wrong are of those websites, but there seems to be a cost assocaited with the data downloads.

Are there other sites - all I want is the Ladybird data to do back-of-the-envelop calculations :exclamation:

#7

Bloomberg has basic commodity futures prices here:
bloomberg.com/markets/commodities/cfutures.html

#8

Yes, those are the ones I have been using but I cannot find historical data associated with these.

#9

follow the link

djindexes.com/mdsidx/?event=showAigHome

and download the spreadsheet “DJ-AIG Commodity Index Settlement Prices”

there is a sub-index for all the commodities you might want.

as pointed out above you have to be a little careful with this data however.
the index is based on futures prices (at CBOT wherever). The futures “roll” means that the indices don’t track spot prices. if the futures curve is upward sloping (contango) the roll means the index will underperform the spot prices.

of course if you bought spot you would have to pay storage costs so you are not really “losing” as sometimes claimed.*

  • controversial remark
    :wink: