$70 oil, $200 iron, $10,000 copper: Commodities smash milestones

When headline crude futures topped $70 a barrel on Tuesday, it was just the latest landmark in a banner year for raw materials.

From copper to iron ore and oil, prices have rallied broadly in 2021, as the global economy emerges from the depths of the coronavirus pandemic and fires up demand. The Bloomberg Commodity Spot Index, which tracks a broad basket of raw materials, is up 21% since January, putting it on track for the best year since 2016.


Copper surged to an all-time high this month, bursting through $10,000 a ton in the process. Iron ore also hit a record recently with the steelmaking raw material surging as China churns out more of the alloy that ever. Now oil’s joining in, with Brent crude topping $70 a barrel, and retail gasoline prices above $3 a gallon in the U.S.