Mumbai, 02 Jan (Commoditiescontrol): The year 2024 witnessed a dramatic surge in the global commodities market, with cocoa topping the charts with an astonishing 178.2% price increase. Robust demand and supply chain challenges have driven this spike, making cocoa the best-performing commodity of the year.
Trailing behind cocoa, robusta coffee and arabica coffee also delivered impressive performances, rising by 71.6% and 69.8%, respectively. The robust price gains in coffee were attributed to adverse weather conditions in major coffee-producing regions and heightened global demand.
Other notable gainers included orange juice (+56.9%), which benefited from reduced citrus yields, and natural gas (+44.5%), buoyed by heightened energy demand in Europe. Precious metals such as gold (+27.5%) and silver (+21.4%) found support amid global economic uncertainty.
Decliners in 2024
At the lower end of the spectrum, soybeans (-22.9%), sugar (-22.2%), and nickel (-19.6%) faced significant price declines. These drops were driven by favorable harvests, slowing industrial demand, and easing supply chain bottlenecks.
Broader Trends
The broader commodity indices, including the Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOM Index) (+0.1%), showed minimal movement, highlighting a mixed performance across various sectors. Energy prices remained volatile, with crude oil prices seeing marginal gains.
Conclusion
2024's commodity price performance reflects a year of sharp contrasts, with agricultural commodities like cocoa and coffee delivering stellar returns while industrial commodities faced headwinds. As we enter 2025, market participants are closely watching for weather patterns, macroeconomic changes, and geopolitical developments to shape the next year in commodities.
(By Commoditiescontrol Bureau; +91-9820130172)