Visual Capitalist: How Key Commodities Have Performed Since 2019
Commodities have experienced significant volatility over the past several years, driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions, and geopolitical tensions.
In this graphic, we rank 11 key commodities by their annual performance since 2019.
Data and Key Takeaways
The numbers we used to create this graphic are listed in the table below.
| Commodity | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🏗️ Aluminum | -3% | 10% | 42% | -15% | 0% | 7% |
| 🛢️ Brent Oil | 22% | -22% | 53% | 9% | -10% | -3% |
| ☕ Coffee | 27% | -1% | 76% | -26% | 13% | 70% |
| ⚙️ Copper | 4% | 26% | 26% | -14% | 2% | 3% |
| 🌽 Corn | 3% | 25% | 23% | 14% | -31% | -3% |
| 🔥 Gas | -34% | 16% | 42% | 4% | -27% | 32% |
| 🏅 Gold | 18% | 25% | -4% | 0.4% | 15% | 26% |
| ⛏️ Iron Ore | 34% | 70% | -28% | -1% | 23% | -24% |
| ⛏️ Nickel | 32% | 18% | 25% | 45% | -44% | -8% |
| 🌱 Soybeans | 7% | 40% | 1% | 14% | -15% | -23% |
| 🍬 Sugar | 12% | 15% | 22% | 6% | 3% | -6% |
Java Prices Surge ☕
Like many other agricultural commodities, coffee bean prices have seen huge swings in recent years. This volatility is usually due to climate challenges in leading export countries such as Brazil and Vietnam.
Brazil, which grows arabica beans, suffered a severe drought in 2024 which amplified fires, interrupted hydro power, and parched crops.
During the same year, Vietnam’s coffee trees were negatively impacted by heat waves which shrink the size of coffee cherries (the fruit that contains the coffee bean). Vietnam is the world’s top supplier of robusta beans, which is commonly used for instant coffee.
Gold Also On the Rise 🥇
Gold has been a top performing commodity over the past two years, after weaker performance in the post-COVID years of 2021 and 2022.
This is being driven by several factors:
- High demand from central banks: Central banks (emphasis on China’s) have been building their gold reserves to diversify away from the U.S. dollar
- Geopolitical tensions: Global conflicts and trade wars are making safe-haven assets like gold more attractive
- Inflation concerns: Gold is also viewed as a hedge against inflation, further bolstering its demand
SOURCE: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-how-key-commodities-have-performed-since-2019/