Leading Commodity ETFs: 2024's Top Performers and Investment Opportunities

The commodity ETF market delivered compelling opportunities in 2024, with significant disparities in performance across different asset classes. This year proved transformative for investors seeking exposure to physical commodities, particularly through exchange-traded funds that track agricultural goods, precious metals, and energy products.

Standout Performers: Five Essential Commodity ETFs

Our analysis identified five commodity ETFs that defined 2024’s investment landscape: Invesco DB Agriculture Fund (DBA), Franklin Responsibly Sourced Gold ETF (FGDL), Invesco DB Precious Metals Fund (DBP), abrdn Physical Silver Shares ETF (SIVR), and United States Oil Fund (USO). These instruments collectively demonstrate how diversified commodity ETFs can capture disparate market trends.

Market Dynamics: A Tale of Three Stories

Precious Metals Surge

Gold demonstrated exceptional resilience, achieving its strongest annual performance in nearly 15 years with robust returns driven by accelerated central bank purchases, accommodative monetary policies worldwide, and heightened geopolitical uncertainty. Silver outpaced gold, benefiting from dual tailwinds: it logged its best year since 2020 while simultaneously gaining favor due to industrial applications spanning solar panel manufacturing and electric vehicle production.

Conversely, platinum and palladium concluded the year in negative territory, reflecting divergent supply-demand dynamics across the precious metals spectrum.

Agricultural Commodities Breakout

The agricultural sector emerged as 2024’s most dramatic narrative. Cocoa prices skyrocketed 172%, making it the standout commodity performer as supply disruptions in major producing regions—particularly Ivory Coast and Ghana—combined with depleted global inventories to create sustained price pressure. Coffee futures surged approximately 70%, propelled by adverse weather conditions affecting Vietnam and Brazil, the world’s dominant producing nations.

Energy Markets: Divergent Trajectories

Energy commodities illustrated starkly different outcomes. Natural gas experienced a 50% appreciation fueled by robust international demand, geopolitical tensions, and anticipated LNG export expansion under incoming policy shifts. Oil prices, however, declined 3% for the second consecutive year, as supply exceeded demand, signaling potential headwinds for oil-focused commodity ETFs.

Industrial metals presented mixed results—copper and nickel rallied in the first half amid supply concerns and surging electric vehicle demand, but momentum evaporated in the latter half, resulting in a challenging overall 2024 performance.

Deep Dive: Individual Commodity ETF Profiles

Invesco DB Agriculture Fund (DBA) – Delivered 33% Returns

DBA tracks the DBIQ Diversified Agriculture Index Excess Return, maintaining substantial exposure to high-performing agriculture commodities through futures contracts. The fund maintains 16.8% weighting in cocoa and 13.1% in coffee—positioning that proved prescient given 2024’s agricultural commodity explosion. With $782.1 million in total assets, DBA charges 92 basis points annually and trades approximately 342,000 shares daily, though it carries a Zacks Rank #5 rating.

Franklin Responsibly Sourced Gold ETF (FGDL) – Up 29.6%

FGDL provides direct exposure to gold bullion price movements with a 15 basis point annual expense ratio—a competitive offering within the commodity ETF universe. Managing $107.9 million in assets with average daily volume of 25,000 shares, FGDL maintains a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) designation despite delivering nearly 30% gains.

Invesco DB Precious Metals Fund (DBP) – 29% Appreciation

DBP offers broader precious metals exposure through the DBIQ Optimum Yield Precious Metals Index Excess Return, incorporating Treasury securities and money market holdings. The fund allocates 8.6% to gold with substantial silver positioning. Its $153.6 million asset base supports 22,000 average daily share trades, while the 76 basis point expense ratio and Zacks Rank #3 rating reflect moderate costs alongside moderate growth expectations.

abrdn Physical Silver Shares ETF (SIVR) – Appreciated 28.2%

SIVR delivered strong silver exposure with $1.4 billion in assets under management and exceptional liquidity—averaging 774,000 daily share trades. At 0.30% expense ratio, SIVR offers cost-efficient silver commodity ETF access and maintains a Zacks Rank #3 status.

United States Oil Fund (USO) – Generated 15.3% Returns

USO represents the premier oil commodity ETF with $1 billion in assets and exceptional market depth of approximately 3 million average daily shares. The fund targets tracking the daily percentage changes in oil futures pricing within defined variance bands. At 0.70% expense ratio, USO provides liquid crude oil exposure despite 2024’s challenging energy environment.

Forward Outlook: What 2025 Holds

The commodity ETF landscape faces distinct catalysts entering 2025. International trade dynamics and policy developments will substantially influence precious metals—where safe-haven demand and dollar strength may provide support—while ample energy supplies potentially continue depressing oil prices. Agricultural commodity ETFs may benefit from persistent supply constraints, though weather patterns will remain critical variables affecting grain and specialty crop markets globally.

For investors evaluating commodity ETFs, 2024’s performance disparities underscore the importance of strategic allocation across specific commodity categories rather than treating the sector as monolithic.