Finance
Big change in global growth is bullish for commodities: VanEck CEO
Investors should consider commodities due to a “big change” involving international expansion, according to VanEck CEO Jan van Eck.
“The world economy started growing again,” van Eck told CNBC’s “ETF Edge” this week.
He singles out China, the world’s second-largest economy behind the U.S., as a key driver in the expansion.
“China which has been such a huge driver of growth and so negative for growth over the last year or two. Manufacturing PMI is now positive in China as of March,” said van Eck. “You now have growth. … So, that leads to your reflation trade.”
His firm has exposure to commodities from gold to energy to copper. Its exchange-traded funds include the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) and VanEck Oil Refiners ETF (CRAK). They’re up 10% and 9%, respectively, year to date.
Van Eck highlights copper‘s momentum as a positive sign for demand. The industrial metal is up almost 16% this year, as of Friday’s close.
“It’s a good measure of global economic growth and energy prices. [They] probably have gotten a little bit ahead of themselves, but they’re reflecting the world is growing,” he said.
He also sees U.S. government spending as bullish catalyst for the commodities trade.
“Fiscal spending is running so super high,” van Eck said. “That’s leading to this global growth trade, too. So, that’s why I like commodities because I think it’s more than just a headline.”
As of Friday’s close, the S&P GSCI Index Spot, which tracks commodities from crude oil to cocoa, is up 10% so far this year.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said Wednesday the looming tariffs that President Donald Trump is expected to slap on U.S. trading partners could be viewed positively.
Despite fears that the duties could spark a global trade war and reignite inflation domestically, the head of the largest U.S. bank by assets said they could protect American interests and bring trading partners back to the table for better deals for the country, if used correctly.
“If it’s a little inflationary, but it’s good for national security, so be it. I mean, get over it,” Dimon told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin during an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “National security trumps a little bit more inflation.”
Since taking office Monday, Trump has been saber-rattling on tariffs, threatening Monday to impose levies on Mexico and Canada, then expanding the scope Tuesday to China and the European Union. The president told reporters that the EU is treating the U.S. “very, very badly” due to its large annual trade surplus. The U.S. last year ran a $214 billion deficit with the EU through November 2024.
Among the considerations are a 10% tariff on China and 25% on Canada and Mexico as the U.S. looks forward to a review on the tri-party agreement Trump negotiated during his first term. The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement is up for review in July 2026.
Dimon did not get into the details of Trump’s plans, but said it depends on how the duties are implemented. Trump has indicated the tariffs could take effect Feb. 1.
“I look at tariffs, they’re an economic tool, That’s it,” Dimon said. “They’re an economic weapon, depending on how you use it, why you use it, stuff like that. Tariffs are inflationary and not inflationary.”
Trump leveled broad-based tariffs during his first term, during which inflation ran below 2.5% each year. Despite the looming tariff threat, the U.S. dollar has drifted lower this week.
“Tariffs can change the dollar, but the most important thing is growth,” Dimon said.
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