2021 may have been a quieter year for markets than 2020, but it was still a fairly eventful one on the whole. However, unlike the previous 5 years, when there was generally a uniform move higher or lower across multiple asset classes- Oil was one of the best places to be, with WTI seeing an annual increase of +55%, while DM equities, cryptocurrencies and the US Dollar were also among the winners, as reported by Deutsche Bank.

Oil

“Oil was the standout performer as WTI (+55.0%) and Brent Crude (+50.2%) were at the top of our standard leaderboard over 2021 as a whole. The rally was supported by a number of factors, including a rise in global mobility after the lockdowns of 2020, as well as the surge in natural gas prices leading investors to seek out alternative sources of energy. 

DM Equities

“The multi-year bull run continued in 2021, with the S&P 500 advancing by +28.7% in total return terms. Other DM equity indices put in a solid performance too, with Europe’s STOXX 600 up by +25.8% on a total returns basis.”

Cryptocurrencies

“A notable theme of 2021 has been the widespread growth of cryptocurrencies, with Bitcoin up by +59.8% over the year as a whole. This was driven by a number of factors, among them the search for a hedge against inflation, as well as the broader moves into risk assets amidst low returns elsewhere. Other cryptocurrencies including Ethereum (+399.1%) and XRP (+268.3%) surged over 2021 as well.”

US dollar

“The dollar index strengthened +6.4% over 2021, mostly reversing the -6.7% decline in 2020. The Japanese Yen was the worst performer, weakening -10.2% against USD.”

Other commodities (except precious metals)

“2021 was a great year for commodities more broadly. Industrial metals put in a decent performance, with copper up +26.8%. Over on the London metal exchange, others include tin (+91.2%), aluminium (+41.8%), zinc (+28.5%) and nickel (+24.9%) all recorded very strong gains too. Separately there was a big surge in a number of agricultural commodities, with wheat (+20.3%) seeing its strongest annual gain since 2010 and a 5th consecutive annual increase, whilst corn (+22.6%) and sugar (+21.9%) prices advanced too.”