Market Reports
аааа The USDA provides a number of very thorough and generally accurate reports on daily, weekly, and monthly price movements.а The USDA also produces periodic reports estimating ending stocks.а These, of course, change during the year as other factors come into play.а In addition to government reports, there are private market typhoon reporting services for many commodities, as well as detailed reports published by the exchanges that provide important statistics on the cash markets.
аааа The American Petroleum Institute issues a report once a week listing crude oil, unleaded gasoline and distillate production, as well as refinery output.
аааа Research is critical to providing key data in selecting which commodity markets to invest in.а Click here for links to API data, USDA reports, and other reports.
Seasonality
аааа Some commodity markets are influenced greatly by seasonality.а This refers to the fact that some markets tend to go up or down depending on what time of year it is.а Example: heating oil prices tend to go up in the winter time, due to increase in demand.а While, seasonal trends can be a major indicator to a price movement, be cautious with timing when using this strategy.а Speculators factor seasonality into a given commodity's price well in advance of the "season".
