🥇Commodities

Commodities — gold, silver, oil, gas, uranium or agricultural crops — are a separate asset class that behaves differently from stocks. Their prices are driven by real-economy supply and demand, geopolitics and macro variables. Gold has historically been seen as a store of value in uncertainty and a hedge against inflation; oil reacts to global growth and production policy; industrial metals reflect manufacturing strength. This different behavior makes commodities a diversification tool — in periods when stocks fall, some commodities may behave differently. Commodities are closely tied to interest rates, inflation and the dollar. A strong dollar usually pushes commodity prices down (because they trade in dollars), while inflation often benefits commodities. You can invest in various ways — via an ETF tracking a commodity or basket, via miner and producer stocks, or via futures (which carry specific risks like contango and rolling). Each route has a different cost and risk profile. This section explains why commodities move, how they tie to rates, inflation and the dollar, and the role they have historically played in a portfolio. Commodities pay no dividend or interest and can be very volatile — this is educational content, not investment advice.