A rising oil price, a buoyant copper market and a disappointing year for gold. While commodities are frequently grouped together, the forces driving individual markets can be very different. This is evident in 2026: the broad commodity index is up around 30%, but performance has varied significantly across different commodities.
"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"Why commodities are popular during periods of inflation"},{"alignedImage":{"position":"bottom"},"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"Commodities have traditionally been viewed as a hedge against inflation. The logic is straightforward: when prices rise across the economy, certain commodities can benefit directly from those higher prices. Oil is a prime example. Rising oil prices feed through into transportation, manufacturing and energy costs, contributing to broader inflationary pressures.
For investors, exposure to commodities can therefore help preserve purchasing power within a portfolio. However, anyone assuming that all commodities rise for the same reasons is likely to be disappointed. The forces shaping today's commodity markets differ substantially from one commodity to another.
"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"AI is fuelling a copper boom"},{"alignedImage":{"position":"bottom"},"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"One of the biggest winners within the commodity complex has been copper. The driving force is the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI).
AI requires increasingly powerful data centres that consume vast amounts of electricity. Supporting that growth demands significant investment in electricity grids, transformers, semiconductor facilities and cooling systems. Copper plays a critical role in almost all of these applications.
Investors are not only focused on current copper demand but also on the expectation that the world will require substantially more electricity infrastructure in the years ahead. Other industrial metals, including aluminium, nickel and zinc, are benefiting from the same trend.
"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"Oil rises on geopolitical tensions"},{"alignedImage":{"position":"bottom"},"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"While copper is benefiting from a long-term structural growth theme, oil prices are being driven mainly by geopolitics and supply security.
Conflicts, trade restrictions and disruptions to key transport routes can all put pressure on oil supplies. Because oil remains essential for transportation, industry and energy production, markets tend to react swiftly to any perceived threat of shortages.
This has implications beyond consumers' energy bills. Higher oil prices also push up inflation expectations, as energy costs filter through to many other goods and services. Although both oil and copper have performed strongly this year, the reasons behind their gains are fundamentally different.
"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"Why gold is lagging behind"},{"alignedImage":{"position":"bottom"},"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"At first glance, it may seem surprising that gold and silver have underperformed this year. Geopolitical tensions, high government debt levels and financial market uncertainty are traditionally supportive factors for precious metals.
However, another development is currently proving more influential. Rising inflation expectations have pushed bond yields higher, making fixed-income investments more attractive again.
This creates a challenge for gold. Unlike equities or bonds, gold generates no income. As bond yields increase, the opportunity cost of holding gold rises, leaving precious metals trailing many other commodities in 2026.
"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"The standout performer of 2026: rare earths"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"Within the commodity universe, rare earth elements have been among this year's standout performers.
Magnetic metals such as neodymium and praseodymium have seen particularly strong price gains. Demand is being driven by their use in AI infrastructure, electric vehicles, wind turbines and defence systems.
At the same time, concerns remain about the availability of production outside China, which continues to dominate global supply chains and has become increasingly entangled in trade disputes with both the United States and Europe. The combination of rising demand, supply uncertainty and limited production capacity has created a powerful tailwind for prices.
"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"How can investors gain exposure to commodities?"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"All of this sounds attractive, but how can investors actually invest in commodities? For most private investors, purchasing and storing physical commodities, whether barrels of oil or gold bars, is impractical. Instead, investors typically gain exposure indirectly through investment funds, ETFs or companies involved in commodity extraction and processing. Examples include mining companies that benefit from higher copper prices or energy producers that stand to gain from rising oil prices.
The most important lesson from this year is that commodities are far from a homogeneous asset class. Behind a single performance figure often lie completely different economic stories. It is precisely this diversity that makes commodities interesting from an investment perspective. However, it also means investors need a clear understanding of the specific forces driving each market.
"}},{"componentType":"linkList","iconTitle":{"title":"Read more"},"textLinks":[{"text":"Number of the Week overview","url":"/en/personal/investing/market-news-and-views/number-of-the-week-overview"},{"text":"More news and views","url":"/en/personal/investing/market-news-and-views"}]},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"Good to know"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"Investing involves risks and costs. The value of your investment may fluctuate. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Read more about the risks of investing.
This publication has been prepared on behalf of ING Bank N.V. and is intended for information purposes only. ING Bank N.V. obtains its information from sources deemed reliable and has taken the utmost care to ensure that the information on which it based its views in this publication was not incorrect or misleading at the time of publication. ING Bank N.V. does not guarantee that the information it uses is accurate or complete. The information contained in this publication may be changed without any form of announcement. Copyright and data file protection rights apply to this publication. Data from this publication may be reproduced provided that the source is stated. ING Bank N.V. has its registered office in Amsterdam, commercial register no. 33031431, and is regulated by the Dutch central bank De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) and the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM). ING Bank N.V. is part of ING Groep N.V.
"}}]},"hasMacro":false,"id":"7e8857e0-e028-41ce-9e0d-f38c53ec3af8","localeString":"en-GB","mainHeaderZone":{"backLink":{"textLink":{"text":"Market news and views","url":"/en/personal/investing/market-news-and-views"}},"componentType":"productHeader","coreHeader":{"body":"7 October 2026 - Commodities have delivered a strong performance this year, yet investors often make the mistake of treating them as a single asset class. That is a missed opportunity, because beneath the headline numbers lies a remarkably diverse investment universe.","headerImage":{"altTextNL":"Getal van de week 30% grondstoffenstijging ytd","extension":"png","original":"https://assets.ing.com/asset/5e63bd6b-453c-49e4-b1bb-ca7bcd87b236/Getal-van-de-week-7-oktober-2026-804x240_px.png","publishedAt":"2026-10-06T19:46:49Z","transformBaseUrl":"https://assets.ing.com/transform/5e63bd6b-453c-49e4-b1bb-ca7bcd87b236/Getal-van-de-week-7-oktober-2026-804x240_px","type":"image","updatedAt":"2026-10-06T19:47:29Z","width":804},"subtitle":"Number of the Week","title":"Commodities: one asset class, many different stories"}},"publishDate":"2026-10-07T10:48:09.451+02:00"}}