Commodities Kickoff 2010 on a Negative Note; S&P GSCI Falls 7.89% in January

NEW YORK, Feb. 2 /PRNewswire/ — Standard & Poor’s, the world’s leading index provider, announced today that the S&P GSCI declined 7.89% in January as each of its main components landed in negative territory during the month. The S&P GSCI Industrial Metals Index was the hardest hit sector in January, falling 8.92% after registering an 82.42% gain in 2009.

“Fears of potential economic weakness, as well as some reversion of the substantial asset rallies seen in 2009, were certainly at play in January,” says Michael McGlone, Director of Commodity Indexing at S&P Indices and author of the Market Attributes Commodities posted monthly to www.spgsci.standardandpoors.com. “The decline in January coincided with a 3.60% loss for the S&P 500, a 2.06% increase in the U.S. Dollar Index and a 32 basis point decline on the yield of the benchmark U.S. 2 year note.”

Also giving back some of its 2009 gains in January was the S&P GSCI Energy Index. The Index fell 8.63% in January after rising 11.22% in 2009. Agriculture was also pressured in January as the USDA crop report indicated a surprisingly ample U.S. harvest, prompting the S&P GSCI Agriculture Index to decline 7.24% during the month.

On the positive side, soft commodities bucked the trend in January. Led by sugar, the S&P GSCI Softs Index gained 3.47% during the month, and has now posted a 12-month return of 46.69%.

The S&P GSCI is the most closely followed benchmark for investment performance in the commodity markets. For more information on the S&P GSCI, please visit: www.spgsci.standardandpoors.com.

                                 Weight      Value     MTD      QTD      YTD
                                   (%)    1/29/2010   Change   Change   Change
                                 ------   ---------   ------   ------   ------
    S&P GSCI                                4176.22    -7.89%   -7.89%  -7.89%
    S&P GSCI Energy Index         69.27%     928.47    -8.63%   -8.63%  -8.63%
    S&P GSCI Petroleum Index      64.38%    1993.19    -8.72%   -8.72%  -8.72%
    S&P GSCI Industrial Metals
     Index                         8.26%    1554.73    -8.92%   -8.92%  -8.92%
    S&P GSCI Precious Metals
     Index                         3.24%    1402.05    -1.54%   -1.54%  -1.54%
    S&P GSCI Agriculture Index    14.55%     570.98    -7.24%   -7.24%  -7.24%
    S&P GSCI Livestock Index       4.69%    2031.29    -0.82%   -0.82%  -0.82%
    S&P GSCI Softs Index           5.59%      92.13     3.47%    3.47%   3.47%
    S&P GSCI Enhanced Index                  587.59    -7.46%   -7.46%  -7.46%
    S&P GSCI 3 Month Forward Index           548.91    -7.78%   -7.78%  -7.78%
    ------------------------------           ------    -----    -----   -----

                                       YTD        YTD       3-MO.      12-MO
                                      High        Low      Change     Change
                                     -------    -------    -------    -------
    S&P GSCI                         4735.24    4176.22     -8.37%     15.02%
    S&P GSCI Energy Index            1066.16     928.47    -11.44%     16.00%
    S&P GSCI Petroleum Index         2286.04    1993.19    -11.79%     22.86%
    S&P GSCI Industrial Metals
     Index                           1797.19    1554.73     -0.27%     72.17%
    S&P GSCI Precious Metals
     Index                           1504.73    1402.05      2.57%     19.78%
    S&P GSCI Agriculture Index        632.95     569.77     -1.37%     -1.51%
    S&P GSCI Livestock Index         2108.96    2028.73     -1.58%     -8.75%
    S&P GSCI Softs Index               93.36      89.14     13.88%     46.69%
    S&P GSCI Enhanced Index           660.63     587.59     -5.09%     17.66%
    S&P GSCI 3 Month Forward Index    620.40     548.91     -7.48%     17.51%
    ------------------------------    ------     ------     -----      -----

    Source: S&P Indices

About S&P Indices

S&P Indices, the world’s leading index provider, maintains a wide variety of investable and benchmark indices to meet an array of investor needs. Over $1 trillion is directly indexed to Standard & Poor’s family of indices, which includes the S&P 500, the world’s most followed stock market index, the S&P Global 1200, a composite index comprised of seven regional and country headline indices, the S&P Global BMI, an index with approximately 11,000 constituents, and the S&P GSCI, the industry’s most closely watched commodities index. For more information, please visit www.standardandpoors.com/indices.

About Standard & Poor’s

Standard & Poor’s, a subsidiary of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), is the world’s foremost provider of independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research and data. With offices in 23 countries and markets, Standard & Poor’s is an essential part of the world’s financial infrastructure and has played a leading role for nearly 150 years in providing investors with the independent benchmarks they need to feel more confident about their investment and financial decisions. For more information, visit http://www.standardandpoors.com

SOURCE Standard & Poor’s