Some commodity prices gained slightly in August but still weaker than January: Of Presidents and Prices

Hard commodities saw some slight price gains in August over July, but the average prices for eight of the 11 S&P Global Platts benchmarks tracked since US President Donald Trump took office in January remain weaker than President Barack Obama’s last full day in office.

The monthly prices for oil, jet fuel, natural gas, coal, iron ore, steel and aluminum are down an average of about 5% since Trump became president (January 20) through August 31, 2017.

Three have gained since then: gasoline up 4.9%; ethanol up 4.5%; and gold up 4.3%.

The president campaigned hard on promises to help the US coal industry, but any boost has not yet been reflected in pricing — thermal coal spot prices are down 12.2% since he took over. Iron ore is down more than 9%, and natural gas down nearly 8%.

What’s more, 10 of the 11 average commodity prices during Trump’s first term are well below the average prices during Obama’s two terms — by an average of minus 21%, with the decline in values ranging from minus 4% to minus 39%.

The lone gainer is in another industry where sentiment has been boosted by Trump — steel, which is up 4.5% compared to the Obama terms’ average steel price.

Read the last iteration of the Of Presidents and Prices series here.