Why Oil Has Proven Resilient

This year has been rough for commodities. Gold is down roughly 25% in 2013, as is corn, while silver is off an astounding 35% through the end of June. But there has been one exception to this trend: energy, particularly oil. Crude oil has proven more resilient and less volatile this year (depending on which benchmark you use, it is either up or down in the single digits) than most other commodities. There are three main factors behind this [for updates on all new ETFs, sign up for the free ETFdb newsletter]: Higher interest rates hit precious metals hard. While the rate regime impacts all commodities, it typically has a more pronounced impact on precious metals. The big losses in gold and silver can largely be attributed to rising real rates. To the extent rates rise in the context of a normalizing economy, the impact is likely to be more muted for [...] Click here to read the original article on ETFdb.com. Related Posts: The Case for Rotating into (Select) Cyclical Sectors Daily ETF Roundup: Stocks End Week In The Red, IXC Slumps Alongside Energy Shares Energy ETFs: Watch Your Big Oil Weight ETF Insider: Stocks Hit 2012 Highs ETF Insider: Be Wary Of A Steeper Correction