RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 How Many Commodity Sectors Are There, and How Do They Behave? JF The Journal of Investing FD Institutional Investor Journals SP 107 OP 121 DO 10.3905/joi.2014.23.1.107 VO 23 IS 1 A1 Geetesh Bhardwaj A1 Adam Dunsby YR 2014 UL https://pm-research.com/content/23/1/107.abstract AB In this article, the authors find evidence for five commodity sectors that naturally conform to the standard functional categorizations typically used by the investment industry (industrial metals, energy, precious metals, grains & oilseeds, and livestock). Of the typical investment industry categorizations, only “softs” do not share a common factor. Using spot data to extend the history of commodity futures, the authors examine the performance of commodity sectors during periods of economic interest to investors and find the following: 1) The industrial metals sector is very sensitive to economic conditions, while the grains & oilseed sector is insensitive; 2) energy and precious metals are the sectors that earn the highest returns during periods of high and unexpectedly high inflation; 3) precious metals do not do well when economic conditions are poor and do not outperform the typical commodity during those periods; and 4) commodities in general, and all commodity sectors, earn positive returns during U.S. dollar crashes.TOPICS: Commodities, performance measurement