The U.S. commodity ETF market, comprising 71 funds from 28 issuers with a total of $245 billion in assets under management, experienced a significant shift in investor sentiment this week. The market narrative was dominated by a flight to safety, with precious metals ETFs attracting the lion’s share of inflows, while a specialized shipping fund posted dramatic double-digit gains, underscoring pockets of volatility in the broader landscape.
Weekly Performance Recap: Precious Metals Lead the Pack
It was a strong week for commodity performance, driven almost exclusively by a rally in precious metals. Gold and silver ETFs posted substantial gains, leading the category to the top of the performance charts. The niche shipping freight category also saw a remarkable surge, propelled by a single tanker shipping fund. In contrast, agriculture and energy-focused ETFs broadly declined, with funds tracking sugar and crude oil experiencing the most significant losses.
Fund Highlights by Category (As of September 5, 2025):
| Category | Category Average Return (WTD) | Top Performer | Worst Performer |
| Multi-Sector | -0.45% | EDGH (3EDGE Dynamic Hard Assets ETF): +1.73% | HARD (Simplify Commodities Strategy No K-1 ETF): -2.53% |
| Agriculture | -2.22% | CORN (Teucrium Corn Fund): -0.28% | CANE (Teucrium Sugar Fund): -4.12% |
| Energy | -1.54% | UNG (United States Natural Gas Fund LP): +1.74% | USO (United States Oil Fund LP): -3.29% |
| Industrial Metals | -0.03% | DBB (Invesco DB Base Metals Fund): +0.41% | CPER (United States Copper Index Fund): -0.73% |
| Precious Metals | +4.15% | SIVR (abrdn Physical Silver Shares ETF): +5.01% | PALL (abrdn Physical Palladium Shares ETF): +3.28% |
| Carbon Credits | +2.10% | CTWO (COtwo Advisors Physical European Carbon Allowance Trust ETF): +4.73% | KCCA (KraneShares California Carbon Allowance Strategy ETF): -2.65% |
| Shipping Freight | +5.59% | BWET (Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF): +12.63% | BDRY (Breakwave Dry Bulk Shipping ETF): -1.46% |
Top & Bottom Individual ETF Returns:
| Ticker | Fund Name | WTD Return |
| Top 3 Performers | ||
| BWET | Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF | +12.63% |
| SIVR | abrdn Physical Silver Shares ETF | +5.01% |
| SLV | iShares Silver Trust | +5.00% |
| Bottom 3 Performers | ||
| CANE | Teucrium Sugar Fund | -4.12% |
| USO | United States Oil Fund LP | -3.29% |
| USE | USCF Energy Commodity Strategy Absolute Return Fund | -3.06% |
Weekly Flows Summary: A Golden Week for Inflows
Investor appetite was sharply focused on precious metals, which pulled in nearly $2.7 billion in net new assets over the past five trading days. This torrent of capital into the $224.9 billion category dwarfed all other segments. Broad multi-sector and energy ETFs faced headwinds, recording net outflows of $66 million and $57 million, respectively. Despite a mixed performance week, agriculture and industrial metals managed to attract modest positive flows.
Category Flows (As of September 4, 2025):
| Category | Fund Count | AUM | WTD Flow | 1M Flow | YTD Flow |
| Multi-Sector | 25 | $15.75B | -$66M | +$15M | +$1,763M |
| Agriculture | 8 | $1.08B | +$2M | +$21M | +$32M |
| Energy | 11 | $2.11B | -$57M | +$131M | -$327M |
| Industrial Metals | 4 | $0.36B | +$2M | -$20M | +$65M |
| Precious Metals | 17 | $224.86B | +$2,694M | +$6,902M | +$29,432M |
| Carbon Credits | 4 | $0.31B | -$5M | +$13M | -$15M |
| Shipping Freight | 2 | $0.06B | +$10M | +$3M | +$0M |
Largest Individual ETF Flows (5-Day):
| Ticker | Fund Name | Flow |
| Top 3 Inflows | ||
| GLDM | SPDR Gold Minishares Trust | +$1,763M |
| GLD | SPDR Gold Shares | +$452M |
| IAU | iShares Gold Trust | +$419M |
| Top 3 Outflows | ||
| SLV | iShares Silver Trust | -$148M |
| GSG | iShares S&P GSCI Commodity Indexed Trust | -$67M |
| USO | United States Oil Fund LP | -$31M |
Issuer and Product Landscape
The commodity ETF market remains highly concentrated, with the top three issuers—SPDR, iShares, and aberdeen—controlling nearly 92% of total assets. This week’s flows reflected this concentration, with SPDR attracting the vast majority of new capital. Conversely, US Commodity Funds saw the most significant outflows. The market saw one new product launch in the past three months with the debut of the COtwo Advisors Physical European Carbon Allowance Trust (CTWO), while no funds were closed.
Issuer Flow Leaders & Laggards (As of 9/4/2025):
| Issuer | AUM | Market Share | WTD Flow | WTD Flow (% of AUM) |
| Top 3 Inflows | ||||
| SPDR | $131.97B | 53.97% | +$2,215M | +1.68% |
| iShares | $78.05B | 31.92% | +$255M | +0.33% |
| aberdeen | $14.00B | 5.73% | +$103M | +0.73% |
| Bottom 3 Outflows | ||||
| US Commodity Funds | $2.23B | 0.91% | -$53M | -2.36% |
| Invesco | $7.22B | 2.95% | -$27M | -0.37% |
| First Trust | $2.21B | 0.90% | -$9M | -0.41% |
This material is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. All investments, including ETFs, involve risk, including the possible loss of principal. Investors should consider their investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses carefully before investing.
This analysis was developed by the team at ETF Action. We leverage advanced AI tools to assist in the drafting and refinement of our content, based on our expert prompts, direction, and final review.
