Commodity Market Analysis
Crude oil, natural gas, precious and industrial metals, U.S. steel and grains measured against their own history: where today's price sits in its 10-year range, how it compares with its average since 2000 once inflation is taken out, the futures curve, and the covered stocks that move with each market. Prices as of 2026-10-28.
This week across commodities
Copper sits highest within its own 10-year range, at 93.7% of the distance from its low to its high, followed by Brent crude at 85.0% and WTI crude at 82.0%. Palladium (18.1%), natural gas (19.1%) and wheat (24.1%) sit lowest. Against inflation-adjusted averages, gold is 128.3% above its average and silver 107.7% above, while natural gas is 54.1% below and corn 21.5% below.
Over the past year, US steel (HRC) rose 68.3%, Brent crude 69.3% and WTI crude 67.1%, while palladium fell 28.9% and natural gas slipped 8.8%. The WTI crude futures curve is in backwardation, meaning nearer-dated contracts trade above later ones. The natural gas curve is in contango, where later contracts trade above nearer ones. The gold and copper curves are flat.
Several ratios sit well away from their history. Oil to natural gas stands at 33.86 against an average of 17.53, and gold to oil at 38.81 against an average of 21.05. Gold to platinum is 2.58 against an average of 1.23, while copper to gold is 1.62 against an average of 2.54. Brent minus WTI is $8.43 against an average of $5.51.
Markets
| Market | Price | 1 year | In 10-yr range | vs. real average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WTI Crude | $102.78 | +70.9% | 82% | +11.0% |
| Brent Crude | $115.32 | +79.1% | 88% | +8.4% |
| Natural Gas | $2.817 | -15.8% | 16% | -57.6% |
| Gold | $4,052 | +2.2% | 70% | +130.8% |
| Silver | $53.46 | +13.4% | 40% | +105.8% |
| Platinum | $1,544 | -2.1% | 42% | +2.9% |
| Palladium | $1,019 | -27.4% | 17% | -10.8% |
| Copper | $6.641 | +29.2% | 97% | +65.4% |
| Aluminum | $3,278 | +16.2% | 67% | +17.8% |
| US Steel (HRC) | $1,392 | +71.0% | 63% | +43.2% |
| Corn | $4.513 | +4.5% | 29% | -22.3% |
| Wheat | $5.995 | +13.3% | 22% | -21.4% |
| Soybeans | $12.37 | +14.7% | 46% | -13.3% |
Ratios against history
- Gold / Silver is 75.79 ounces of silver per ounce of gold, in the upper part of its range since 2000 (higher than 67% of month-ends; average 69.12).
- Gold / Platinum is 2.62 ounces of platinum per ounce of gold, near the top of its range since 2000 (higher than 97% of month-ends; average 1.23).
- Copper / Gold is 1.64 copper $/lb per gold $/oz, ×1000, near the bottom of its range since 2000 (higher than 12% of month-ends; average 2.54).
- Gold / Oil is 39.42 barrels of WTI per ounce of gold, near the top of its range since 2000 (higher than 91% of month-ends; average 21.05).
- Oil / Natural Gas is 36.49 MMBtu of gas per barrel of oil, near the top of its range since 2000 (higher than 97% of month-ends; average 17.53).
- Brent − WTI is $12.54 a barrel, near the top of its range since 2007 (higher than 89% of month-ends; average 5.51).
- Soybean / Corn is 2.74 price ratio, in the upper part of its range since 2000 (higher than 79% of month-ends; average 2.50).
- Wheat / Corn is 1.33 price ratio, in the middle of its range since 2000 (higher than 50% of month-ends; average 1.34).