The threshold for making the worst commodities list in 2013 was relatively high, considering it was the worst year for the asset class since the financial crisis of 2008. In terms of sectors, metals and agriculture fared particularly poorly, while energy managed to stay off the list. [Click here to see the year's five best-performing commodities.]
5. Nickel -16.2%
Surging stockpiles pushed nickel prices sharply lower. Stockpiles of nickel at warehouses monitored by the London Metal Exchange rose by 83 percent over the year to last stand at a record 256,000 metric tons.
4. Wheat -22%
Pressured by a record global harvest of 711.4 million metric tons, wheat was unable to escape the selling that affected the rest of the grain complex.
Pressured by a record global harvest of 711.4 million metric tons, wheat was unable to escape the selling that affected the rest of the grain complex.
3. Gold -28.3%
Certainly the most-talked-about commodity this year was gold. The yellow metal, which rose over the past 12 years, finally fell, and did so in spectacular fashion. It was gold’s worst year since 1981, and came amid a backdrop of record-high stock markets, rising interest rates and a reduction in monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve.
2. Silver -36%
Unsurprisingly, silver, the more volatile cousin of gold, also fared poorly this year. The gray metal’s price movements were inextricably tied to Fed policy.
Unsurprisingly, silver, the more volatile cousin of gold, also fared poorly this year. The gray metal’s price movements were inextricably tied to Fed policy.
1. Corn -38%
Corn performance in 2013 contrasted sharply with that of 2012, as prices plunged by more than a third after hitting all-time highs last year. Following the worst drought in more than 50 years in 2012, weather conditions improved this year, allowing the corn crop in the U.S. to flourish. The corn harvest may total 14 billion bushels, the most ever, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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