Commodity prices hold the key to 2019 outlook

Oil impact: A seagull flies in front of an oil platform in the Bouri Oilfield some 70 nautical miles north of the coast of Libya. For every US1 change in Brent prices, Malaysia’s tax revenue is impacted by RM300mil. — Reuters

THE S&P GSCI (previously known as the Goldman Sachs Commodity Index) is a composite index of the commodity sector tracking 24 exchange traded futures contracts in the energy, industrial metals, precious metals, agriculture and livestock sectors.

In terms of weight, the oil and gas sector is heavily weighted on the index, with the price of the WTI crude oil alone making up almost a quarter of the index, while the sector itself is approximately 58.5% of the index. Other commodities like corn, copper and gold make up another 13.6% of the index.