Best and Worst Performers June 18-22
Exchange-traded products (ETPs) tracking wheat, corn and other agricultural commodities surged forward last week due to adverse weather conditions in some of the world's major grain producing regions. In the US and Ukraine, dry weather raised concerns that corn and wheat crop yields would be substantially less than anticipated. In particular, the US is set to record its driest summer since 1988. In India, less-than-typical monsoon rains heightened investor concerns that grain crop yields would be reduced. All in all, the general tightening of expected crop yields caused the prices of these major agriculture commodities to leap.
Volatility-linked products were among last week's worst performing ETPs. Volatility-linked products typically spike when expectations for future volatility (i.e. 'fear') rise. On Sunday June 17th, news that Greece's conservative New Democracy party won a majority in the Greek elections resulted in a temporary sense of calm across world markets. New Democracy had publicly stated its intention to keep Greece in the eurozone, and with their victory, fears that Greece might exit the eurozone subsided. Following the election results, on Monday June 18th, the S&P 500 VIX index plunged 11%.
Here are the details for last week's best and worst performing ETPs: