Commodity ETFs See $801M Outflows as Precious Metals Drag and Shipping Freight Surges

Share

Weekly Channel Summary

As of March 27, 2026, the Commodity ETF channel encompasses a total of 71 ETFs managed by 28 distinct issuers, representing a combined Assets Under Management (AUM) of $344.44 billion. The channel experienced net outflows over the past week, with 5-day flows coming in at -$801 million. This recent capital contraction brings the year-to-date (YTD) flow metric further into negative territory, currently sitting at -$730 million.

This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards

Performance across the commodity subgroups was highly polarized this week. The Shipping Freight category led the market with a remarkable week-to-date (WTD) return of 15.31%, propelled by persistent momentum that has generated a staggering 257.93% YTD gain. Conversely, Precious Metals significantly lagged the broader complex, declining -2.75% on the week, which erased its 1-month returns and dragged its YTD performance down to a near-flat 0.07%.

Category Performance Snapshot

Category WTD 1 Month 3 Month 6 Month YTD 1 Year
Shipping Freight 15.31% 41.69% 238.92% 345.28% 257.93% 499.33%
Carbon Credits 3.30% -0.94% -16.05% -9.19% -15.73% -1.05%
Industrial Metals 1.74% -6.74% -0.10% 20.14% 0.57% 21.89%
Agriculture 0.78% 5.36% 7.51% 6.50% 9.03% 1.61%
Multi-Sector 0.15% 9.96% 20.48% 25.77% 22.43% 31.67%
Energy -0.54% 31.04% 47.09% 32.55% 46.43% 32.57%
Precious Metals -2.75% -17.19% -4.97% 23.65% 0.07% 59.82%

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance

On an individual fund basis, the BWET (Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF) was the undisputed leader, delivering a staggering 31.71% return in just five days. On the negative side, platinum-focused products suffered the most severe drawdowns; both the PLTM (GraniteShares Platinum Trust) and the PPLT (abrdn Physical Platinum Shares ETF) posted matching declines of -6.53% for the week.

Top 5 Performers
Ticker Fund Name WTD Performance
BWET Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF 31.71%
CTWO COtwo Advisors Physical European Carbon Allowance Trust ETF 5.51%
KRBN KraneShares Global Carbon Strategy ETF 3.64%
UX Roundhill Uranium ETF 2.72%
CPER United States Copper Index Fund 2.24%
Bottom 5 Performers
PLTM GraniteShares Platinum Trust -6.53%
PPLT abrdn Physical Platinum Shares ETF -6.53%
SIVR abrdn Physical Silver Shares ETF -6.33%
SLV iShares Silver Trust -6.33%
PALL abrdn Physical Palladium Shares ETF -3.29%

Analyzing the Weekly Flows

Overall, the Commodity channel experienced a net reduction of -$801 million over the past five trading days. This was driven almost entirely by the Precious Metals category, which witnessed massive outflows totaling -$1.38 billion. On the positive side of the ledger, the Energy category attracted the most net new capital, taking in $367 million for the week.

Category Flows Summary

Category Fund Count AUM 5 Day 30 Day 90 Day YTD 1 Year
Energy 11 $4.67B $367M $1,370M $1,239M $1,334M $1,607M
Agriculture 8 $1.93B $265M $786M $831M $829M $793M
Multi-Sector 27 $23.25B $43M $809M $2,488M $2,419M $3,908M
Shipping Freight 2 $0.08B $7M $5M $12M $13M -$37M
Carbon Credits 3 $0.24B -$3M -$3M -$20M -$18M -$42M
Industrial Metals 4 $1.01B -$99M -$74M $440M $390M $658M
Precious Metals 16 $313.26B -$1,380M -$15,369M -$5,540M -$5,698M $36,620M

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow

Drilling down to the individual ETF level, despite precious metals suffering broad outflows, the SLV (iShares Silver Trust) managed to buck the trend, pulling in an impressive $371 million to lead all commodity ETFs. Conversely, the largest outflows were concentrated in gold funds, heavily penalizing the GLD (SPDR Gold Shares) and the IAU (iShares Gold Trust), which shed -$1.08 billion and -$387 million respectively.

Top 5 Inflows
Ticker Fund Name 5-Day Flow
SLV iShares Silver Trust $371M
USO United States Oil Fund LP $246M
GLDM SPDR Gold Minishares Trust $115M
BNO United States Brent Oil Fund LP $115M
DBA Invesco DB Agriculture Fund $113M
Top 5 Outflows
GLD SPDR Gold Shares -$1,077M
IAU iShares Gold Trust -$387M
SGOL abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF -$87M
SIVR abrdn Physical Silver Shares ETF -$72M
PPLT abrdn Physical Platinum Shares ETF -$70M

Issuer League Table Update

In the commodity space, market share remains highly concentrated among the top two issuers: SPDR commands a staggering 52.22% of the channel’s AUM, followed by iShares with 32.16%. In terms of asset gathering this week, US Commodity Funds led all issuers, collecting $311 million across their suite.

Top 5 Issuers by AUM

Brand Fund Count AUM AUM Market Share
SPDR 3 $179.88B 52.22%
iShares 7 $110.76B 32.16%
aberdeen 7 $20.91B 6.07%
Invesco 9 $10.31B 2.99%
US Commodity Funds 8 $5.03B 1.46%

Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow

Top 3 Inflows
Brand 5-Day Flow
US Commodity Funds $311M
Teucrium $130M
Invesco $45M
Top 3 Outflows
SPDR -$955M
aberdeen -$313M
GraniteShares -$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.