Commodities Rebound in February Despite Volatile Market Conditions, Demand Expected to Drive Continued Interest in the Space

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Mar 10, 2010, 11:14 ET

NEW YORK, March 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Despite recent volatility in global markets, commodities markets continue to react positively to signs of ongoing economic recovery.

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Andrew Karsh, Co-Lead Portfolio Manager for the Credit Suisse Total Commodity Return Strategy said, "While markets continue to remain reactionary to news which creates uncertainty, such as recent concerns surrounding the debt crisis in Greece, the trend towards stability and continued growth in the consumption of raw materials is undeniable. Additionally, increased government infrastructure projects financed by the global stimulus programs should continue to drive demand for commodities over the short to medium term."

Co-Lead Portfolio Manager, Christopher Burton, added, "Price dynamics for each commodity tend to be unique based on harvest cycles, mining capacities or even weather patterns; therefore, when combined with changes in demand for products such as food, infrastructure development, or the energy required to produce both, a broad-based investment in commodities markets can provide thematic exposure to the benefits of this unique asset class."

Although commodities are still down year-to-date, the market rebounded in February with the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Total Return gaining 3.71% for the month. All sectors were up for the month with Industrial Metals leading the way, up 6.06% due to Nickel's strong performance. Nickel gained 14.27%, due to increased production of stainless steel from Asian countries in conjunction with lessened supplies of the metal from Canadian mines. Crude Oil was the strongest of all Energy components, posting a gain of 8.49%, while Cotton finished up 17.54% as a result of increased imports from China.

The Credit Suisse Total Commodity Return Strategy group periodically produces updates on relevant industry topics. For a copy of their latest whitepaper, "Capitalizing on any Curve: Clarifying Misconceptions About Commodity Indexing", please email [email protected].

About the Credit Suisse Total Commodity Return Strategy

Credit Suisse's Total Commodity Return Strategy has been managed for fourteen years and seeks to outperform the return of a commodities index, such as the Dow Jones–UBS Commodity Index Total Return or the S&P GSCI Total Return Index, using a quantitative commodity research process. Commodity index total returns are achieved through:

Spot Return: price return on specified commodity futures contracts;
Roll Yield: impact due to migration of futures positions from near to far contracts; and
Collateral Yield: return earned on collateral for the futures.

About the Portfolio Managers

Christopher Burton, CFA, and Andrew Karsh are Co-Lead Portfolio Managers of the Credit Suisse Total Commodity Return Strategy. As of February 28, 2010 the team managed approximately USD 4.7 billion in assets globally.

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This document was produced by and the opinions expressed are those of Credit Suisse as of the date of writing and are subject to change. It has been prepared solely for information purposes and for the use of the recipient. It does not constitute an offer or an invitation by or on behalf of Credit Suisse to any person to buy or sell any security. Any reference to past performance is not necessarily a guide to the future. The information and analysis contained in this publication have been compiled or arrived at from sources believed to be reliable but Credit Suisse does not make any representation as to their accuracy or completeness and does not accept liability for any loss arising from the use hereof.

SOURCE Credit Suisse AG