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.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 498.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 303 percentage points (see more details here).
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. (NYSE:NFGC) 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.
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