Commodities
Commodities is a data page on the Global Intelligence desk of Glassbox Auditing. The physical side of commodity prices: mines, trade lanes, chokepoints, pipelines and weather in farm and energy regions, with front-month futures, hedge funds' positions, world food prices and the New York Fed's supply chain pressure index. Raw materials are the first cost in food, fuel, metals and building, so their prices pass into producer and then consumer prices.
Last updated: .
What is on this page today?
- Canadian Prairies: +4.0°C against its usual week, +6°C since 1 Nov — the last 7 days' mean temperature against the same week of the 10 years before · rain 22% of normal (Copernicus ERA5 and weather models, 8 Nov 2026)
- US Northeast: +3.9°C against its usual week, +3°C since 1 Nov — the last 7 days' mean temperature against the same week of the 10 years before · rain 56% of normal (Copernicus ERA5 and weather models, 8 Nov 2026)
- Central Europe: -3.3°C against its usual week, -2.1°C since 1 Nov — the last 7 days' mean temperature against the same week of the 10 years before · rain 0% of normal (Copernicus ERA5 and weather models, 8 Nov 2026)
- Brent crude oil: -16.4% over the week to 6 Nov — +0.03% on the day · -1.9% over a month · front-month contract (NYMEX (CME Group), 5 Nov 2026)
- Gasoline (RBOB): -16.2% over the week to 6 Nov — +0.48% on the day · -14.1% over a month · front-month contract (NYMEX (CME Group), 5 Nov 2026)
- WTI crude oil: -12.8% over the week to 6 Nov — +0.34% on the day · +2.9% over a month · front-month contract (NYMEX (CME Group), 5 Nov 2026)
- Heating oil / diesel: -9.6% over the week to 6 Nov — -0.46% on the day · -6.3% over a month · front-month contract (NYMEX (CME Group), 5 Nov 2026)
- Lean hogs: -9.1% over the week to 6 Nov — -2.86% on the day · -30.4% over a month · front-month contract (CME Group, 5 Nov 2026)
- Hedge funds in US natural gas: net short 225,359 contracts, 1st percentile of 3 years — -19,042 contracts on the week · -13.4% of open interest · positions as of 3 Nov 2026 (CFTC Commitments of Traders, 2 Nov 2026)
- Hedge funds in Coffee: net long 14,732 contracts, 2nd percentile of 3 years — -5,372 contracts on the week · +8.8% of open interest · positions as of 3 Nov 2026 (CFTC Commitments of Traders, 2 Nov 2026)
- Hedge funds in Silver: net long 4,035 contracts, 4th percentile of 3 years — +714 contracts on the week · +3.5% of open interest · positions as of 3 Nov 2026 (CFTC Commitments of Traders, 2 Nov 2026)
- FAO food price index: 133.9 in October 2026, -1.3% on the month — +5.9% on a year · 2022 peak 160.2 · 2014-16 = 100 (FAO, 30 Oct 2026)
- Global supply chain pressure: +1.26 in October 2026, from +1.36 a month earlier — standard deviations from the index's average; 0 is normal, late 2021 peaked above +4 (Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 30 Oct 2026)
Where does the data come from?
Items on this page come from Copernicus ERA5 and weather models; NYMEX (CME Group); CME Group; CFTC Commitments of Traders; FAO; Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Each item links to its own source. All sources, how items are checked.
What does this page lead to?
- Prices & Inflation (Macro): Farm, fertilizer and energy prices pass into producer prices first and then into what households pay for food and fuel over the following months. (moves the same way; 1-6 months; economy scale) Source: BLS producer price indexes: diesel fuel, farm products, fertilizer, processed foods, via FRED.
- Oil to Prices (Macro): Farm commodities are a small share of what a shopper pays for food, with processing, transport and retail making up the rest, so a grain spike reaches grocery prices only partly and with a lag. (moves the same way; months; economy scale) Source: USDA ERS Food Dollar Series (industry group shares of the food dollar).
- Auto & Energy (Companies): Steel, aluminum and copper are large costs in a car, so higher metal prices tend to squeeze automakers' margins unless they pass them on. (moves the other way; quarters; sector scale) Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL company facts (10-Q/10-K).
- Company (Companies): Fertilizer makers' prices are set by world nitrogen, phosphate and potash markets, so their revenue tends to rise and fall with those prices. (moves the same way; the next quarterly report; company scale) Source: BLS producer price indexes: diesel fuel, farm products, fertilizer, processed foods, via FRED.
- Resources & Energy (World Powers): A commodity price rise lifts export earnings for the countries that mine or grow it and raises import bills for those that depend on it, the split Resources & Energy shows. (either way, depending on the cause; months; global scale) Source: World Bank World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0).
What feeds this page?
- Live Trains (Global Intelligence): Grain cars carry the U.S. harvest to export ports, so slow service or stuck grain cars in the fall delay shipments and widen the gap between farm and port prices. (either way, depending on the cause; weeks; sector scale) Source: Surface Transportation Board, EP 724 rail service data (Class I railroads' weekly filings).
- Conflict Zones (Global Intelligence): Ukraine and Russia ship much of the world's wheat, corn and sunflower oil out of the Black Sea, so attacks or blockades there tend to lift grain prices, as in 2022. (moves the same way; days to weeks; global scale) Source: FAO Food Price Index.
- Disasters (Global Intelligence): Droughts and floods in major farm regions cut harvests, which tends to lift grain and food prices; the FAO index records the world average. (moves the same way; weeks to months; global scale) Source: FAO Food Price Index.
- Oil to Prices (Macro): Energy is a large part of farming and food costs through fuel, fertilizer and transport, so oil moves feed world food prices. (moves the same way; 3-12 months; global scale) Source: FAO Food Price Index.
- Economies & Debt (World Powers): China uses about half the world's copper, steel and coal, so its growth rate moves industrial metal prices. (moves the same way; months; global scale) Source: IMF World Economic Outlook / DataMapper.
- Resources & Energy (World Powers): Grain exports are concentrated (Russia and Ukraine in wheat, the U.S. and Brazil in corn and soybeans), so a shock to one producer moves world grain prices. (either way, depending on the cause; months; global scale) Source: FAO Food Price Index.