1st June 2018

Highlights for May: The Thomson-Reuters commodity index put in a 2018 high this past month, but a wave of selling set in over the last ten days, paring the advance and forcing the index to close with only a modest gain as we see in the boxed-in area of our chart below. Much of the initial rise in the index – and its subsequent decline – was attributable to the sizable moves we saw in crude oil. At one point, both crude contracts tacked on $5–$6/barrel on the month, roughly matching the advance seen in April.  But unlike in April, the gains did not stick and in WTI’s case, unraveled altogether by month end. Brent fared somewhat better, ending $3/barrel higher on the month.