3 Less Popular Commodities That Might Be Worth Adding to Your Portfolio

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By Jacob Maslow

A practical stockholder comprehends that you cannot place all your bets in a single basket. Though it will possibly not take out the risk completely, varying your stock portfolio can benefit your investing plans by making the best out of the resources in the market. Currently, we have loads of diverse investment opportunities you can select from, take for example we have stocks, we also have bonds and then there are currencies which can be fragmented down further by joining together resources that have similar features.

And don’t overlook the commonly unkempt commodities that can potentially and eventually be convertible into high value products or any dependable services. Know that there will always be a wide range of diverse commodity choices for fresh as well as veteran traders. But wait, don’t you get too excited just yet to start out and make a move.  You have to know a handful of significant things for you to be able to dive into buying commodity stocks, from the finest ones up to the less common ones.

Investing in commodities is not a new venture, it is a centuries old business endeavor even before the inception of bonds and stocks. It serves as a very significant industry, connecting diverse civilizations to individuals together regarding where you are right now, from east up to the west side of the world trading silks, spices or others. Up to the present day, commodities remain a prevalent vehicle of investment.

Commodity investment has several advantages that investors must learn. A major payback is that most commodities are inclined to safeguard stakeholders against several upshots of inflation. A typical pattern includes a growing demand for certain commodities which seems to heighten during times of increasing inflation that shoves up market prices. It serves to be a reliable bet versus American currency because whenever a dollar falloffs, the price of the commodity upsurge.

Since you are an investor, you have to contemplate on playing safe and invest on strong and popular commodities such as natural gas, oil, gold, platinum or silver but there are less common commodities in the market that could still give you high dividends. We have here itemized the three less popular goods which are also worth a slot in your portfolio.

 

  1. Sand

This is just sitting around in beaches, rivers, deserts and in many other locations, so who would intend to release some cash for this commodity? Well as a matter of fact, tons of businesses are companies producing chemicals, gas and most of all,  energy.

Sand has a significant role in fracking which is a drilling technology where energy companies inject it into rock formations underground to extract water, gas, oil, or energy. U.S. Silica Holdings is considered as one of the leading suppliers of this type of sand. They excavate, trade, process, and sell over and above hundreds of unique varieties of silica in numerous structures, purity levels, and proportions.

In the same manner, it is also known to be a logistics corporation. The reason is that sand must reach promptly, in order not to keep costly rigs and crews expecting for a long time. U.S. Silica Holdings is getting bigger through procurement in the Permian basin and Texas. Through locating capacity in the Permian, the said company was able to cut down costs in transportation and saved so much time. Several sand contractors transport even to states geographically far from the location of the sand.

 

  1. Base Metals

Base metals which include aluminum, zinc and copper seem less popular to investor’s eyes when compared to gold, silver or platinum but they can be worth a shot. Even though metals finished quite low in the last few months because of the threats of the COVID-19 pandemic to the manufacturing industry, forcing some factories to shut down momentarily throughout the world, a hope can be seen from afar for this industry. There could be a silver lining for these base metals in the forthcoming years.

JPMorgan Global Manufacturing, a company that follows manufacturing activity all over the globe, declared a 47.8 during the month of June. Even though that doesn’t reasonably point toward positive growth, it denotes that factories are also being in contract at a much sluggish proportion than they used to be in the two months preceding June. Amazingly, June’s positive progress is the sturdiest on record for a lone month demonstrating an eventual bounce back is in motion. Basing by country, the demand for these metals in manufacturing industries was sturdiest in Brazil, China, Italy, United Kingdom, and France.

 

  1. Palladium

This is a glossy, silvery element giving off a white gold its color. It is a vital component of fuel cells and catalytic converters. It was discovered in the 1800’s and was named after a known asteroid. It is worth noting that even though it’s not that popular palladium is rarer than gold or platinum. This earth metal has gained a reputation subsequently after the 2008 financial crisis; its uses vary and can be tremendously flexible, and it’s relatively safe when you contemplate that it’s not significantly shaken by political affairs or even inflation. Its cost has been increasing slowly but steadily for several years now, and there have been more and more stockholders appearing and decided to put their cash into this rare earth metal. Some market professionals say that 2020 will be the year of palladium, but other analysts prefer to stay careful.

 

Summary

If you have contemplated your investment already, you may need to do some research to distinguish the production level of your preferred commodity across the globe, if there are any new sources of supplies or maybe there’s a likelihood that something will be discovered. It also won’t hurt to look up with a knowledgeable stockbroker, especially if you’re fresh to the stock market.

The moment you have decided to go and invest your cash on a certain commodity, well-known stockholder Jim Rogers advises you to reflect on the following queries. Your answers shall dictate if it’s worth your cash.

  1. What is the present status of producing the commodity globally?
  2. Are there newer and more innovative commodities circulating and arising in the digital platforms?
  3. Are there any explorations undertaken for the said commodity at present?

Do not limit yourself with the three commodities on the list. There are several other commodities that you might want to think about as worthy investments include other valuable metals such as lithium, cotton, and less popular but emerging food products including sugar and cocoa beans. With all these judgments in mind, nevertheless, conduct your own research online and study or ask with a veteran broker.

 

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