The COVID-19 virus may still be with us, but the economic impacts of the pandemic that raged around the world have continued to recede – most recently in terms of shipping costs. Despite ongoing inflation, shipping rates are expected to dip back below even the levels they reached before the pandemic, with the Breakwave Dry Bulk Shipping ETF (BDRY) one of the top performers last week among ETFs.
| Ticker | Name | 1 Week Return |
|---|---|---|
| (BDRY) | Breakwave Dry Bulk Shipping ETF | 18.11% |
| (UNG) | United States Natural Gas Fund LP | 16.37% |
| (GAZ) | iPath Series B Bloomberg Natural Gas Subindex Total Return ETN | 15.59% |
| (UNL) | United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund LP | 10.97% |
| (COPX) | Global X Copper Miners ETF | 9.94% |
| (XME) | SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF | 9.83% |
| (COPJ) | Sprott Junior Copper Miners ETF | 9.67% |
| (KWEB) | KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF | 9.48% |
| (SILJ) | ETFMG Prime Junior Silver Miners ETFMG Prime Junior Silver Miners Fund | 9.33% |
| (SLX) | VanEck Steel ETF | 9.13% |
BDRY returned 18.1% over the last week, the top return based on Factset data available to VettaFi. BDRY charges 285 basis points to track an index of long-only exposure to the nearest calendar quarter of dry bulk freight futures contracts on specified futures. Dry bulk shipping is a key part of the global commodities market, which by no coincidence was the focus of most of the rest of the top ten performing ETFs of the week in areas like mining and energy.
That commodities spike may be attributable in part to China’s reopening, reigniting once again one of the biggest markets for global commodities. Among the beneficiaries over the last week were ETFs like the United States Natural Gas Fund LP (UNG) and its sibling, the United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund LP (UNL) returned 16.4% and 11% respectively in that time.
Meanwhile, mining strategies like the Global X Copper Miners ETF (COPX), the SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME), the Sprott Junior Copper Miners ETF (COPJ), and the VanEck Steel ETF (SLX) took many of the spots in the top ten returning 10%, 9.8%, 9.7%, and 9.1% respectively. While copper itself may be more tied to tech areas given its use in computer hardware and semiconductors, the performance particularly of the steel ETF SLX suggests a strong floor for metals demand overall.
Whether the trend in commodities demand can continue will depend on broader economic conditions, but for those investors intrigued by the prospect of continued hunger for metals and fuel, it may be worth looking at the top performers last week for a list of options.
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