Shipping Freight Craters as Broad Market Commodities Hold Steady

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Weekly Channel Summary

The Commodities channel closed the week with total assets of $343.80B spread across 76 ETFs from 31 issuers. Net flows were positive but modest at $121M for the five-day period, contributing to a $8,500M YTD gain and a substantial $28,603M inflow over the trailing year. The channel’s long-term flow trend remains firmly positive despite a quieter week of activity.

This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards

Focused – Agriculture led category performance for the week at 0.92% WTD, followed by Focused – Industrial Metals at 0.57%, with both categories also posting strong YTD returns of 14.42% and 14.89% respectively. Specialty – Shipping Freight was the week’s clear laggard, plunging -21.30% WTD despite an extraordinary 2829.76% YTD gain, underscoring the extreme volatility in this niche segment. Focused – Precious Metals also struggled, down -2.06% WTD and roughly flat on a YTD basis at -1.93%. At the fund level, ETRACS CMCI Total Return ETN Series B (UCIB) was the standout performer at 24.03% WTD, while Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF (BWET) sat at the bottom, down -24.59% for the week.

Category Performance Snapshot

Category WTD 1 Month 3 Month 6 Month YTD 1 Year
Focused – Agriculture 0.92% 0.84% 8.28% 6.74% 14.42% 12.01%
Focused – Industrial Metals 0.57% -0.05% 8.96% 17.30% 14.89% 35.25%
Multi-Sector – Broad Market -0.71% 5.28% 19.22% 15.16% 41.78% 45.46%
Specialty – Carbon Credits -0.76% -3.01% -0.04% 13.42% -2.93% 3.82%
Focused – Energy -1.38% 16.02% 30.33% 23.36% 92.81% 75.22%
Focused – Precious Metals -2.06% -7.89% 7.10% -6.14% -1.93% 17.50%
Specialty – Shipping Freight -21.30% 39.84% 293.00% 507.77% 2829.76% 3594.24%

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance

Beyond the category leaders, natural gas exposure featured prominently among top performers, with United States Natural Gas Fund LP (UNG) gaining 6.92% and United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund LP (UNL) adding 1.98%. Teucrium Sugar Fund (CANE) rounded out the top five with a 1.45% gain. On the downside, oil-linked products were pressured, with United States Oil Fund LP (USO) down -3.57% and Invesco DB Oil Fund (DBO) down -3.23%. Precious metals weakness also showed through abrdn Physical Palladium Shares ETF (PALL) and iShares Silver Trust (SLV), each down roughly 3%.

Ticker Fund Name WTD Performance
Top Performers
UCIB ETRACS CMCI Total Return ETN Series B 24.03%
MWHS Skylar Electricity Futures ETF 7.57%
UNG United States Natural Gas Fund LP 6.92%
UNL United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund LP 1.98%
CANE Teucrium Sugar Fund 1.45%
Bottom Performers
BWET Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF -24.59%
USO United States Oil Fund LP -3.57%
DBO Invesco DB Oil Fund -3.23%
PALL abrdn Physical Palladium Shares ETF -3.00%
SLV iShares Silver Trust -2.99%

Analyzing the Weekly Flows

The channel gathered a net $121M over the five-day period, with Multi-Sector – Broad Market leading inflows at $254M and Focused – Precious Metals contributing a further $144M. Focused – Energy saw the largest outflow at -$109M, followed by Specialty – Shipping Freight at -$77M and Focused – Agriculture at -$75M despite its strong YTD flow of $1,314M. Focused – Industrial Metals also posted a modest weekly outflow of -$15M. The divergence between the Broad Market category’s steady weekly and YTD accumulation ($7,309M YTD) versus the volatility in smaller specialty segments highlights differing investor conviction across commodity exposures this week.

Category Flows Summary

Category Fund Count AUM 5 Day 30 Day 90 Day YTD 1 Year
Multi-Sector – Broad Market 29 $31.83B $254M $1,364M $3,515M $7,309M $8,363M
Focused – Precious Metals 18 $303.71B $144M $3,412M $10,570M -$528M $18,366M
Specialty – Carbon Credits 3 $255M $0M $9M -$8M -$34M -$55M
Focused – Industrial Metals 4 $1.13B -$15M -$33M -$105M $334M $560M
Focused – Agriculture 8 $2.50B -$75M $243M $139M $1,314M $1,268M
Specialty – Shipping Freight 2 $286M -$77M -$62M $52M $23M $9M
Focused – Energy 12 $4.09B -$109M -$313M -$543M $82M $93M

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow

iShares Silver Trust (SLV) led all funds with $293M of net inflows, followed by SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) at $246M, reflecting continued demand for precious metals exposure through select vehicles. On the outflow side, SPDR Gold Minishares Trust (GLDM) shed -$275M, the largest redemption of the week, while iShares Gold Trust (IAU) lost -$202M. The gold complex thus showed a notable split between products gaining and losing assets simultaneously, suggesting positioning shifts rather than a broad retreat from the metal.

Ticker Fund Name 5-Day Flow
Inflows
SLV iShares Silver Trust $293M
GLD SPDR Gold Shares $246M
PDBC Invesco Optimum Yield Diversified Commodity Strategy No K-1 ETF $101M
HGER Harbor Commodity All-Weather Strategy ETF $84M
IAUM iShares Gold Trust Micro ETF of Benef Interest $65M
Outflows
GLDM SPDR Gold Minishares Trust of beneficial interest -$275M
IAU iShares Gold Trust -$202M
BWET Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF -$77M
UNG United States Natural Gas Fund LP -$72M
BNO United States Brent Oil Fund LP -$67M

Issuer League Table Update

SPDR remains the dominant issuer by assets with a 51.46% share and $176.91B in AUM across just 3 funds, followed by iShares at 30.90% share with $106.24B spread across 7 funds. iShares also led weekly inflow activity, gathering $195M, with Harbor adding $84M and Invesco contributing $53M. On the outflow side, US Commodity Funds saw the largest weekly redemptions at -$120M, followed by Amplify at -$77M and aberdeen at -$36M. The contrast between SPDR’s concentrated asset base and iShares’ broader inflow activity this week highlights differing investor engagement across the largest commodity issuers.

Top 5 Issuers by AUM

Brand Fund Count AUM AUM Market Share
SPDR 3 $176.91B 51.46%
iShares 7 $106.24B 30.90%
aberdeen 7 $21.17B 6.16%
Invesco 9 $12.73B 3.70%
Harbor 2 $4.88B 1.42%

Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow

Brand 5-Day Flow
Inflows
iShares $195M
Harbor $84M
Invesco $53M
Outflows
US Commodity Funds -$120M
Amplify -$77M
aberdeen -$36M

For a deeper dive into these trends, access our FREE, in-depth Commodity ETF reports in the right side panel of this page.

Disclosures

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.