Although flooding in Australia has hit the iShares MSCI Australia (NYSEArca: EWA) hard today, the rising waters could be beneficial for other exchange traded funds (ETFs).
Flooding in Queensland may not recede for weeks, and there’s more rain in the forecast. The flooding has cut off or flooded almost two dozen towns, affecting more than 200,000 people, and killing three people.
The waters haven’t only disrupted the local economy, but it’s threatening to damage a host of commodities and curtail the production of others. [Commodity ETFs: Coping With a Possible Bubble.]
Australia’s output is important to a number of commodities. Continued flooding problems could impact these funds in particular:
- Market Vectors Coal (NYSEArca: KOL): Coal is Australia’s largest export, accounting for $55 billion of export revenues annually, reports The International Business Times.
- PowerShares DB Agriculture Fund (NYSEArca: DBA): Wheat prices are surging as a result of the flooding, too. [Agriculture ETFs: No Signs of Stopping.]
- iPath DJ-UBS Sugar (NYSEArca: SGG): A sugar industry group estimates that as much as 18% of last year’s cane harvest and the early plantings for this year’s crop were under water.
Tisha Guerrero contributed to this article.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.