In this article, we will explore the 7 Worst Performing Commodity Stocks So Far in 2026.
Commodities have had a mixed start to 2026, but the tone shifted sharply higher late in the first quarter as energy markets tightened. The World Bank’s latest monthly data showed that in February its energy price index edged down 0.5% and its non-energy index fell 1.2%, while food prices rose 2.1%, fertilizers gained 6.5%, metals slipped 1.7%, and precious metals rose 1.7%. By late March, however, oil had become the main driver of the complex: the IEA said Brent had risen about $20 per barrel since the outbreak of hostilities on February 28, while Reuters reported Brent trading above $115 and heading for one of its strongest monthly gains on record.
The main reasons appear fairly clear. Energy prices have been lifted by war-related disruption in the Middle East, reduced flows through the Strait of Hormuz, and refinery outages. Outside energy, the picture has been less uniform. Reuters has noted rising aluminum prices on supply concerns, while copper has faced a looser physical backdrop, with exchange inventories up sharply since the start of January. In agriculture, Reuters reported that coffee prices have softened this year as the market anticipates a stronger Brazilian crop.
For the rest of 2026, the outlook still looks split. The World Bank’s latest baseline, before the March shock, projected that overall commodity prices would fall 7% this year, citing weak global growth, an oil surplus, and policy uncertainty. But near-term upside risk has increased, because the IEA now sees the Middle East conflict as a major supply disruption even as it trimmed 2026 oil demand growth to 640 kb/d.
Gold bars. Photo by Zlaťáky.cz on Pexels
Methodology
We used screeners to identify commodity stocks and then picked the ones with the worst YTD performance. We limited our selection to stocks that have recently reported noteworthy developments likely to impact investor sentiment. These stocks are also popular among analysts and elite hedge funds.
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7. New Found Gold Corp. (NYSE:NFGC)
New Found Gold Corp. (NYSE:NFGC) is one of the worst-performing commodity stocks so far in 2026.
As of March 30, 2026, the stock was down 40.07% year-to-date. The stock is a consensus Buy, with all 4 analysts covering it assigning a Buy rating. The 1-year consensus median price target of $3.65 implies nearly 110% upside (per data compiled by CNN.com).
While analyst coverage remained relatively thin, a recent note from Roth MKM is notable. On March 10, 2025, Roth MKM analyst Mike Niehuser cut his price target on New Found Gold to $5 from $9 but maintained a Buy rating. His comments suggested the target cut did not reflect a negative view on the underlying geology. Instead, he said the company had exceeded expectations in demonstrating the gold potential of the Queensway North area, citing mineralization to the north, south, and west of the Appleton Fault Zone, as well as at depths of more than one kilometer. The note pointed to a broader mineralized system even as the target was reduced.
New Found Gold Corp. is a Canadian gold company focused on the Queensway Gold Project in Newfoundland and Labrador. The project spans about 220,000 hectares and more than 110 kilometers of strike across the Appleton and Joe Batt’s Pond fault zones.
6. NexMetals Mining Corp. (NASDAQ:NEXM)
NexMetals Mining Corp. (NASDAQ:NEXM) is one of the worst-performing commodity stocks so far in 2026. On March 26, 2026, the company said drill hole SMD-26-209 at the Selebi Main deposit in Botswana intersected 10.50 metres of blebby, stringer, and massive sulphides, including 3.05 metres and 5.95 metres of massive sulphides. The hole is part of the company’s ongoing surface drilling program targeting the Flexure Zone, an emerging area outside the 2024 mineral resource estimate.
NexMetals said the visual results were consistent with hole SMD-25-205, which it previously reported returned 11.05 metres grading 7.31% copper equivalent and is located about 350 metres away. The company said the latest intercept supports its interpretation that the Flexure Zone extends down-dip and down-plunge from Selebi Main, with assays from SMD-26-209 still pending.
Chief Executive Officer Sean Whiteford said the hole continued to show thick intervals of massive sulphide mineralization beyond the current mineral resource footprint. He added that step-out drilling in the Flexure Zone was also validating the company’s borehole electromagnetic targeting, with mineralization intersected where modeled.
NexMetals Mining Corp. is a mineral exploration and development company focused on redeveloping the past-producing Selebi and Selkirk copper-nickel-cobalt-platinum group element mines in Botswana.
5. Contangro Ore Inc. (NYSE:CTGO)
Contangro Ore Inc. (NYSE:CTGO) is one of the worst-performing commodity stocks so far in 2026.
On March 26, 2026, Contango said it completed its merger with Dolly Varden Silver under a statutory plan of arrangement, with all issued and outstanding Dolly Varden shares acquired by 1566004 B.C. Ltd., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Contango. Under the deal terms, each Dolly Varden share was exchanged for 0.1652 of a Contango voting common share or, for eligible holders who validly elected, 0.1652 of an exchangeable share of Acquireco.
Photo by Scottsdale Mint on Unsplash
Contango said the transaction brought together its cash-flowing Manh Choh Gold Mine and advanced high-grade exploration assets in Alaska with Dolly Varden’s Kitsault Valley silver-gold project in British Columbia’s Golden Triangle. The company said it issued 13,686,278 Contango shares and replacement options to purchase 417,048 Contango shares, while Acquireco issued 1,597,301 exchangeable shares. After the merger, there were 30,507,599 outstanding Contango shares, excluding the exchangeable shares.
The release also said Dolly Varden shares were expected to be delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange at the close of trading on March 27, 2026, and from the NYSE American on April 6, 2026, after which Dolly Varden planned to apply to cease being a reporting issuer in Canada.
Contango Ore, Inc. is a precious metals company engaged in the exploration for and development and production of gold and associated minerals in Alaska and in the Golden Triangle in British Columbia.
4. Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (NYSE:NAK)
Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (NYSE:NAK) is one of the worst-performing commodity stocks so far in 2026.
On February 19, Northern Dynasty Minerals said it was responding to a Department of Justice brief filed two days earlier in Alaska federal court in support of the Environmental Protection Agency’s veto of the Pebble Project. The company said it and its wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, Pebble Limited Partnership, still believe the veto is unlawful and plan to file their response brief by April 15. Northern Dynasty added that it would continue exploring a settlement with the EPA while also pushing for a court decision as soon as possible.
Management argued that the DOJ filing repeats positions it has challenged before and said those arguments conflict with findings in the Final Environmental Impact Statement. CEO Ron Thiessen said the company’s October 2025 opening brief had already laid out why it believes the veto should be invalidated, and that the April filing will address the DOJ’s arguments in more detail. Northern Dynasty also framed the case as having broader implications for U.S. permitting, claiming the government’s position could set a wider precedent for future Clean Water Act Section 404 permit decisions.
Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. is a mineral exploration and development company. Its principal asset is a 100% interest in the Pebble Project in Southwest Alaska, held through its wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, Pebble Limited Partnership.
3. Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. (NYSE:IDR)
Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. (NYSE:IDR) is one of the worst-performing commodity stocks so far in 2026.
On March 23, Idaho Strategic reported record operating and financial results for 2025, helped by higher gold output and a much stronger top line. Annual revenue rose 64.6% year over year to $42.4 million, while net income attributable to the company increased 89.2% to $16.7 million. Diluted earnings per share climbed to $1.14 from $0.67 a year earlier. Gross profit more than doubled to $26.2 million. The company also ended 2025 with $73.3 million in cash and investments.
Operationally, Idaho Strategic produced 12,538 ounces of gold in 2025, up 5.2% from 2024, and processed 41,840 tonnes of ore at an average flotation feed grade of 10.14 grams per tonne gold. Proven and probable reserves at the Golden Chest Mine increased 53.2%, supported by conversion drilling during the year. The company said it also drilled 19,162 meters at Golden Chest, the highest annual total in its history.
For 2026, management said it aims to safely grow production at Golden Chest while continuing the Murray Mill buildout and advancing exploration across its rare earth land package.
Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. is an Idaho-based gold producer. The company also holds exploration exposure to rare earth elements, thorium, copper, and silver, anchored by its Golden Chest Mine and broader Murray Gold Belt assets.
2. TMC the metals company Inc. (NASDAQ:TMC)
TMC the metals company Inc. (NASDAQ:TMC) is one of the worst-performing commodity stocks so far in 2026.
On March 27, TMC reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results while outlining a broader U.S.-based buildout strategy for its deep-sea minerals business. The company said it had entered exclusive negotiations with the Port of Brownsville in Texas covering 1,466 acres for a potential nodule processing and refining hub, with a preliminary master plan already developed for a 12 million-tonne-per-annum facility and a prefeasibility study underway. TMC said the project remains conditional on U.S. government support and that it is still evaluating a capital-light tolling option in Japan.
Financially, TMC ended 2025 with about $117.6 million in cash, but its annual net loss widened sharply to about $319.8 million from $81.9 million in 2024. The company said the increase was driven in part by a $131 million rise in NORI’s royalty liability after updated economic studies, along with a $38 million non-recurring warrant-related charge. Management said 2025 marked a shift toward a clearer U.S. permitting route, and pointed to NOAA’s March 9 substantial-compliance determination as an important step in the regulatory process.
TMC the metals company Inc. is a deep-sea minerals company focused on developing polymetallic nodule resources in the Clarion Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean.
1. U.S. Gold Corp. (NASDAQ:USAU)
U.S. Gold Corp. (NASDAQ:USAU) is one of the worst-performing commodity stocks so far in 2026.
On March 17, U.S. Gold filed its quarterly report for the period ended January 31, 2026, showing that the company remains in the development stage, with no revenue, as it continues to advance the CK Gold Project in Wyoming. Net loss for the quarter narrowed to about $5.3 million from $6.4 million a year earlier, while the loss for the first nine months of fiscal 2026 was about $11.8 million. The bigger financial change was on the balance sheet. Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash rose to roughly $36.1 million at January 31, up from about $7.8 million at April 30, 2025, following the $31.2 million private placement completed in December 2025.
U.S. Gold said that cash should be enough for near-term corporate overhead and planned permitting, licensing, engineering, metallurgical, baseline, and pre-construction work, though it also said additional capital will likely be needed to carry the CK Gold Project into construction and production. The filing keeps the focus squarely on funding and project advancement rather than operating results, since the company is still pre-revenue.
U.S. Gold Corp. is a U.S.-focused gold and copper exploration and development company with the CK Gold Project in Wyoming, the Keystone Project in Nevada, and the Challis Gold Project in Idaho.
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