Hard Assets Roar Back: Commodities Surpass Traditional Trades in Dominant Macro Shift
Lars Hansen, Head of Research at The Gold & Silver Club, says that Hard Assets are entering their next explosive phase. This is not a temporary spike in one isolated corner of the market, but rather a broad-based repricing driven by inflation, scarcity, geopolitical fragmentation, and resurgent physical demand.
The scoreboard leaves little room for debate, with European Natural Gas surging 204%, Heating Oil up 149%, and Diesel advancing 136% since their 2026 lows. Commodities are no longer an alternative trade but have become the dominant macro trade of 2026, according to Hansen.
Agriculture is being repriced just as aggressively, with Cocoa roughly doubling from its 2026 low, Rice gaining 66%, Wheat up 45%, Cotton rising 41%, Sugar increasing 35%, and Corn climbing 32%. Soybeans are up more than 20%, while Arabica Coffee has surged 71% this year.
Hansen notes that the significance is not any single percentage but rather the number of strategically important Commodities rising together. The scale of threatened supply is enormous, with even allowing for overlap between routes.
The AI revolution is adding a structural layer of demand on top of an already strained supply picture, Hansen says. Copper, Tin, and Aluminium are not just cyclical trades but becoming strategic assets in a world being rebuilt around power, electrification, and industrial resilience.