Commodities weekly: AI disruption fears rattle equities while commodities retain leadership in Commodity News 16/02/2026 U.S. equities fell sharply on Thursday, as a renewed sell-off in technology shares extended what has become a volatile stretch for global stock markets. Investors are increasingly grappling with the possibility that rapid advances in artificial intelligence could disrupt entire industries—from software and financial services to wealth management and legal data provision—potentially leading to widespread job displacement and structural change. Recent trading has been marked by outsized cross-sector moves, reflecting a growing “sell now, ask later” mindset, as markets attempt to price in the disruptive reach of AI. Over the past fortnight alone, concerns about technological displacement have pressured shares of private credit firms, insurance brokers, wealth advisers, and providers of financial and legal data. Investors have rotated away from previously dominant winners—including several of the “Mag 7” technology giants—into other sectors and, in some cases, away from U.S. equities altogether. As a result, both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq have slipped into negative territory for the year, while European and Asian benchmarks have advanced. A major ETF tracking core emerging markets is up more than 11% year to date, highlighting a broadening geographic diversification trend. Recent U.S. data suggest the economy continues to expand, with tentative job gains, moderating but still sticky inflation expectations, and pockets of softness in consumer spending and housing. The Federal Reserve has already shifted to a more accommodative stance via rate cuts and renewed balance‑sheet expansion, framed as “insurance” against labour‑market weakness. However, internal resistance to further easing has grown, and markets currently price only two additional 25‑basis‑point cuts this year. Against this backdrop of equity market uncertainty, commodities and commodity-linked equities have delivered strong performance. On a sector basis – as per the table below – we are witnessing gains across all sectors except softs, which have seen broad losses led by cocoa and coffee. Besides energy, which has seen surprisingly strong gains as geopolitical risks have reduced the supply-glut focus that prevailed at the start of the year, precious metals have delivered gains despite a historic slump at the start of the month, which the sector is still trying to recover from. Natural gas is flat on the year and trades near a four‑week low around USD 3.14/MMBtu after moving within a wide USD 3–8 range so far this year. A recent U.S. winter storm and ongoing cold weather have driven stockpiles down by more than 600 billion cubic feet over the past two weeks to 2.214 tcf, leaving inventories 5.5% below the five‑year average. With projections pointing to another sizeable draw next week, the market could become vulnerable if the cold spell extends into March. Besides slowing activity in China ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays, nickel traded lower on the week despite Indonesia, the world’s largest supplier, taking steps to support prices by instructing one of its biggest mines to cut output. Aluminum also declined following reports that the Trump administration is considering narrowing the scope of U.S. import tariffs on certain metal products. The levies introduced last year on aluminum and steel disrupted global trade flows, reducing shipments to the U.S. whil