Commodity Research Bureau Index (CRBI): Definition and Weightings
By Markets & Investing DeskUpdated Nov 10, 2026
Definition
The CRB Index is a benchmark that tracks the combined price direction of 19 commodity futures across energy, agriculture, precious metals, and industrial metals.
Key takeaways
- The CRB Index tracks 19 commodity futures contracts, weighted 41% agriculture, 39% energy, 13% industrial metals, and 7% precious metals.
- It follows futures prices, not physical spot prices, so its returns include the effects of rolling contracts.
- Thomson Reuters publishes the index. An equal-weight version based on the original 1957 design is published as the Thomson Reuters Equal Weight Commodity Index.
The Commodity Research Bureau Index (CRBI), usually called the CRB Index, is a benchmark that measures the combined price direction of a basket of commodity futures. It tracks 19 commodities across energy, agriculture, precious metals, and industrial metals, so a single number reflects whether raw material prices are broadly rising or falling. Traders, economists, and portfolio managers use it as a barometer of commodity markets and of inflation pressure in the real economy.
What the CRB Index Tracks
The basket covers 19 commodities: aluminum, cocoa, coffee, copper, corn, cotton, crude oil, gold, heating oil, lean hogs, live cattle, natural gas, nickel, orange juice, RBOB gasoline, silver, soybeans, sugar, and wheat.
These are grouped into four sectors with fixed target weights:
| Sector | Weight |
|---|---|
| Agriculture | 41% |
| Energy | 39% |
| Industrial (base) metals | 13% |
| Precious metals | 7% |
Agriculture includes livestock and soft commodities such as coffee, cocoa, and orange juice, which is why it carries the largest share even though energy contains fewer contracts. Because energy and agriculture together make up 80% of the index, moves in oil, gasoline, natural gas, and grains dominate its direction. Gold and silver, often treated as headline commodities, have a comparatively small effect.
How the CRB Index Works
The index is built from futures contracts, not from prices paid for physical goods. Each component’s price change is multiplied by its weight, and the weighted changes are summed into a single index level. When a futures contract nears expiration, the index holds the next contract instead. This “roll” keeps exposure continuous, but it also means the index return can differ from the change in a commodity’s spot price.
Calculating a CRB-style index move
A simplified version of the math uses sector weights and sector returns:
Index return = Σ (sector weight × sector return)
Hypothetical example. Assume that over one month energy futures rise 10%, agriculture falls 2%, precious metals rise 5%, and industrial metals are flat. Also assume weights stay at their targets during the month (in practice, weights drift between rebalancing dates as prices move).
- Energy: 0.39 × 10% = 3.90%
- Agriculture: 0.41 × (−2%) = −0.82%
- Precious metals: 0.07 × 5% = 0.35%
- Industrial metals: 0.13 × 0% = 0.00%
The total is 3.43%. If the index started the month at a hypothetical 300, it would end near 310.29. The 5% gain in metals barely registered, while the energy rally drove most of the result.
Interpreting the index
A rising CRB Index signals that commodity futures prices are broadly higher, which often accompanies rising input costs for manufacturers and food producers. A falling index points the other way. Analysts often compare its year-over-year change with consumer price trends, such as historical U.S. inflation rates, because commodity prices feed into the cost of energy and food. Since most of these contracts are priced in U.S. dollars, the index is also read alongside the U.S. Dollar Index: a stronger dollar can weigh on dollar-denominated commodity prices.
History of the Commodity Research Bureau
After the Great Depression, as trading in stocks, bonds, and commodity futures slowly recovered, traders had few sources of comprehensive commodity information. Journalist Milton Jiler founded the Commodity Research Bureau to fill that gap, starting with a publication called the Futures Market Service. The goal was a measure of overall price activity across commodity markets instead of single contracts.
The index was first calculated in 1957 using equal weights. In 1986, the New York Futures Exchange introduced the CRB Futures Price Index, which quickly became the exchange’s most-watched contract. The current version uses the sector weights described above, while the original equal-weight approach survives in the Thomson Reuters Equal Weight Commodity Index.
How the CRB Index Is Used
Many investment professionals now treat commodities as an asset class alongside stocks, bonds, and cash equivalents. Supporters argue commodities add diversification and inflation protection; critics see them as a niche, highly volatile category. Either way, the CRB gives portfolio managers a benchmark for commodity exposure, much as the S&P 500 does for U.S. large-cap stocks.
The index itself cannot be bought. Investors gain exposure through futures, funds, or exchange-traded products that track a commodity index.
CRB Index vs. Other Commodity Indices
The CRB was one of the first commodity indices, and several others followed, including the S&P GSCI, the Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOM), the UBS Bloomberg CMCI, the Dow Jones Commodity Index, the Rogers International Commodity Index, and the Reuters/Jefferies CRB. All provide exposure to commodities through futures, but their weighting methods differ. The S&P GSCI weights components by world production, which gives energy a much larger share. BCOM combines liquidity and production data and caps individual weights. The CRB’s fixed sector targets give agriculture more influence than a production-weighted index would.
These differences mean two “commodity index” readings can diverge sharply in the same period, particularly when oil and crops move in opposite directions.
The CRB name also appears on spot price indexes, such as the raw industrials index. These track cash market prices of raw materials and are separate from the futures-based CRB Index.
Limitations of the CRB Index
- Futures roll effects. When later-dated contracts cost more than expiring ones (contango), rolling can drag on returns even if spot prices are flat.
- Weighting choices. Fixed sector targets reflect a design decision, not each commodity’s economic size.
- Not a pure inflation gauge. Commodity prices are one input into consumer prices. The index excludes services, housing, and wages.
- Currency effects. Dollar pricing means part of any move can reflect the currency, not supply and demand for the goods.
- Volatility. Weather, geopolitics, and supply shocks can move individual components sharply, and the index inherits that volatility.
The Bottom Line
The CRB Index matters to traders, economists, and portfolio managers who want one reading on broad commodity prices and inflation pressure. Because energy and agriculture make up 80% of its weight, oil, gasoline, natural gas, and grains drive most of its moves. Investors cannot buy the index directly and should account for futures roll effects, dollar pricing, and weighting choices when comparing it with spot prices or other commodity indices.
