OREANDA-NEWS  Cobalt, coffee and gold became the most profitable commodities for investment in January-April, and orange juice was the most unprofitable, according to data from ICE Futures and the Shanghai Metal Exchange, which were analyzed by RIA Novosti.

Thus, cobalt, which is widely used for the manufacture of steel and electric batteries, increased in price by almost 39% from the end of December 2024 to the end of April this year. Gold rose in price by 25.6%. In addition, prices for steel (+22.3%), rhodium (+18.1%) and copper (+15%) used in catalysts grew the fastest among metals.

Arabica coffee has become the most expensive agricultural product and the second fastest growing among all products – its price has jumped by 25.8% since the beginning of this year. Soybean oil increased in price by 21.4%, and wheat on the American stock exchange – by 11.1%.

In the energy sector, only propane (+10.6%) and gasoline on the American stock exchange (+1.2%) showed positive dynamics. On the contrary, more widespread energy resources have fallen in price: gas in the UK and Europe has lost the most since the beginning of the year – about 38% and 34%, respectively, as well as coal – 22.4% and Brent oil - about 16%.

Among all goods, orange juice fell the most in the first four months of this year – by 45% at once, as well as potatoes on the European stock exchange – by about 43%. Cocoa beans, last year's leader in profitability, have lost almost 31% of their value on the London Stock Exchange this year due to a more favorable harvest situation.
The most "affected" metals were gallium, with a decrease in value of 14.6%, germanium (-12.3%) and zinc (-12.6%).