Oil prices rose more than the prices of other commodities in 2019, the U.S.' Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a statement on Monday. The price of Brent crude ended last year over 20% higher compared to the previous year. The international benchmark closed at $66 per barrel on Dec. 31, 2019, 22.7% higher than the $53.80 a barrel registered on Dec. 31, 2018, according to official figures.
American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) increased by more than 30% last year. WTI ended last year at $61.06 a barrel, from $45.41 that was recorded during the same period of 2018, marking a 34.4% jump.
WTI’s increase was "the largest increase of all GSCI commodities in 2019," the EIA said in a statement. GSCI, the S&P Goldman Sachs Commodity Index, measures the performance of commodities around the world over a specific time period.
Other energy commodities such as motor gasoline, heating oil, and gasoil rose by 28%, 19%, and 19%, respectively; however, natural gas was the only energy commodity in the GSCI to decrease in 2019.
Natural gas traded in the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 26% from $2.96 per million British thermal units (Btu) on Jan. 2 last year to $2.19 per Btu at the year-end on Dec. 31 marking the biggest percentage decline of all commodities in the GSCI during the year, according to the EIA.
Meanwhile, precious metals such as gold and silver were seen as safe assets last year, whose values increased with economic contractions. "Gold and silver prices are positively correlated with each other but negatively correlated with commodities associated with economic expansion," the EIA said.
(Anadolu Agency)
