The S&P GSCI ended the first quarter of 2010 with a decline of 0.89 per cent following a 1.94 per cent increase in March.
Livestock was the strongest sector in the S&P GSCI for the first quarter as measured by the S&P GSCI Livestock Index’s Q1 increase of 6.99 per cent after a 3.81 per cent gain in March.
“The index’s performance in the quarter straddled the positive influence of a 6.03 per cent increase in the S&P 500, and the negative forces of a 4.12 per cent gain in the US Dollar Index,” says Michael McGlone, director of commodity indexing at S&P Indices.
For the month, the S&P GSCI Industrial Metals Index represented the best performing sector with an 8.60 per cent March gain, resulting in a year-to-date increase of 4.49 per cent.
The S&P GSCI Petroleum Index posted a solid increase of 5.39 per cent in March, for a YTD gain of 3.76 per cent.
The S&P GSCI Agriculture index was the leading sector laggard, posting a first quarter decline of 17.91 per cent after an 11.63 per cent loss in March due to weakness in sugar and the grains.
