The Bloomberg Commodity ex-Agri & Livestock TR (BCOMXALT Index) was up +3.12% over the month of March. The best performing sector being the precious metals complex, as gold and silver both performed strongly as investors sought safe-haven assets in the face of a global trade war. Energy and industrial metals were also well in positive territory, with copper performing exceptionally well as investors rushed to get exposure to the metal ahead of announced tariffs coming into force in early April.
INDUSTRIAL METALS
The industrial sector was up in March. A weakening USD provided support for all base metals. The overall impact from tariffs and retaliations was uneven across metals and the decision from the German government to invest in defense and infrastructure was supportive.
Copper was among the best performers of the month, largely attributed to anticipation of tariffs prompting suppliers and manufacturers alike to frontload shipments to the US.
Aluminium was the only industrial metal in negative territory, with Europe’s demand growth showing signs of weakening linked to uncertainty in tariffs.
PRECIOUS METALS
The complex saw the most gains in March, with Silver and Gold a well in positive territory.
Gold found firm footing on the weaker USD and increased safe-haven demand, as geopolitical concerns rose as hopes of resolve for the war in Ukraine melted, notably after the clash in the white house between Zelenski and Trump/Vance. Shortly after, gold rose again with the escalation of the US trade war with Mexico, China and Canada and overall uncertainty over trade war and tariffs to come.
Concerns over inflation linked to tariffs were supportive to the yellow metal.
ENERGY
The complex was up over the period.
Best performing commodity in the sector was Natural Gas, followed by WTI and Brent. Only ECX Emissions were down over the period after a volatile month.
