Remember when gold was the commodity market commentators wouldn't touch with touch with a 40-foot pole?
The last twelve months show that if you were invested in commodities, in fact you could have done a whole lot worse than to own gold shares.
Just look at the chart, where gold has been the third 'best' performing commodity over the past twelve months.
That's bad news if you're an iron ore investor a la Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) or BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP), an oil investor in Woodside Petroleum Ltd (ASX: WPL) or Santos Ltd (ASX: STO), or basically an investor in any commodity that isn't beef, gold, or aluminium.
While you wouldn't necessarily have done well out of a gold investment, if you were in iron ore or oil instead, your losses are likely to have been catastrophic.
Indeed Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) shares are trading within just a few percent of its highest point in the past twelve months. So too for beef producer Australian Agricultural Company Ltd (ASX: AAC) and Alumina Ltd (ASX: AWC).
Of course it's also necessary to remember that oil and iron ore enjoyed very strong years recently, while gold shares in particular lost huge portions of their value in 2013.
It just goes to show exactly how quickly commodities can turn around, especially when the supply and demand equations change.
In fact, with commodities looking ugly, and potential for yet another drop in our interest rates, the stage is set for a huge influx of money into reliable, dividend-paying, industrial type companies.
