Energy commodity prices declined more than other commodities in the first half of 2017

U.S. Energy Information Administration ------ The energy component of the Standard and Poor’s Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (GSCI) fell 11% during the first half of 2017, the largest decline for any commodity group in the index. Other components of the index—livestock, industrial metals, precious metals, and agriculture—had end-of-June prices that were higher than at the beginning of the year. Supply-side developments unique to energy commodities likely contributed to the divergence. Because two major crude oil price benchmarks, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent, account for 70% of the weighting in the S&P GSCI energy index, the energy index tends to follow major price movements in the crude oil market. During the first half of 2017, WTI crude oil prices declined by 12%, while Brent prices fell 14%. To learn more click on the picture below to read the article.