Commodity currencies are those currencies that co-move with the prices of primary commodities (oil, natural gas, steel, soybeans, etc.), because of these countries’ strong dependency on the export of certain raw materials for their revenues. Notwithstanding these types of currencies are most prevalent in developing countries (eg. Burundi, Tanzania, Papua New Guinea), developed countries like Canada and Australia have also commodity currencies, the Canadian and Australian dollar, respectively.In forex markets, the most famous commodity currencies are: the Australian dollar, the Canadian dollar, the New Zealand dollar, the Norwegian krone, the South African rand, the Brazilian real, the Russian ruble and the Chilean peso.For example, the higher the price of oil and steel, the higher the value of the Russian ruble relative to foreign currencies, because oil and steel are two of Russia’s most exported commodities. The Australian dollar is highly correlated with iron ore prices, as the country is the world’s top iron ore producer and exporter. The Canadian dollar is highly correlated with oil prices, as the country is the fifth-largest oil producer in the world, with the commodity accounting for almost 11 percent of the nation’s exports. Colombian peso is highly correlated with oil, as oil exports are responsible for about 20 percent of government revenue and 25 percent of total exports. Finally, the Peruvian Sol is highly correlated with copper, as Copper is Peru’s most important mineral export by value, amounting to 24 percent of exports in 2016 worth $8.77 billion.Therefore, a trader who wishes to specialize in commodity currencies should bear in mind that he has always to keep an eye on the commodities world, especially on those commodities on which the currency he is trading depends on.
Commodity currencies
