During the month of March, the top 3 performing sectors were: livestock (+8.89%), financial indices (+4.01%), and grains (+0.63%). The bottom 3 sectors were: softs (-7.15%), interest rates (-1.51%) and currencies (-1.07%). The Federal Reserve (FOMC) met on March 16th-17th to discuss monetary policy, specifically inflation. Per the press release, inflation continues to run below 2 percent and overall economic conditions remain accommodative. The committee also decided to keep rates at 0 and expects to keep it that way until maximum employment and an inflation level over 2 percent is reached.
Looking into the commodity markets, livestock outperformed most of the market with its major contributor being lean hogs. Pig prices continue to rise as domestic demand remains strong and export demand increases in strength – a trend we’ve become familiar with in 2021. Reports in the grain market reveal bullish sentiment and prices finish the month of March positive. However, investors seem to have favored corn and beans opposed to wheat – closing the month down -6.27%. Cocoa, sugar, coffee, and cotton faced a large amount of downward pressure after selling off from their highs in late February/early March.
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Sector & Index Performance Consists of the following:
Grains: Corn, Soybean Meal, Oats, Soybeans, Soybean Oil, Wheat, Rough Rice. Livestock: Live Cattle, Feeder Cattle, Lean Hogs. Softs: Cocoa, Orange Juice, Sugar No. 11, Random Length Lumber, Coffee, Cotton No. 2. Currencies: Euro Currency, Japanese Yen, British Pound, Canadian Dollar, Swiss Franc, US Dollar, Brazilian Real, Mexican Peso, Australian dollar. Indices: S&P 500, Mini Dow, Mini Nasdaq. Interest Rates: 30-year t-bond, 10-year t-note, 5-year t-note, Eurodollars. Metals: Gold, Silver, Copper, Platinum, Palladium. Energy: Crude Oil, Reformulated Gas, Natural Gas, Heating Oil, Denatured Fuel Ethanol. S&P 500 Index – data collected from investing.com. S&P GSCI Index – data collected from us.spindices.com/indices/commodities/sp-gsci.