FxWirePro Commodities Watch (Metals):

Metals form an important part of global commodities. Precious metals serve beyond their traditional usage and as a store of value or as a hedge against inflation. Industrial metals like Zinc, Lead are important gauges to determine the global economic activities.

In this FxWirePro Commodities Watch, we are to present our readers the performance of the various commodities, categorically classified, which are keys in understanding the broader global economy. For example, copper is considered as a barometer of global economic activity or gold is considered as a safe haven.

In this part, we present the metals, both precious and industrial.

• The best performer in the metal pack has been Zinc which rose 58 percent, followed by Iron ore (56.5 percent), Tin (43.3 percent), Palladium (40.4 percent), and Lead (34.1 percent).
• Industrial barometer Copper has risen by more than 26 percent this year, same as Nickel.
• Silver rose by 17 percent this year.
• Aluminum is up13 percent YTD.
• Worst performers have been Gold (7.2 percent) and Platinum (4.2 percent)

The metal pack has been one of the top performers in Commodities with an average gain of 29.7 percent.