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Commodities

Live futures prices for energy, metals, grains, softs, livestock and lumber, each with its full price history — and, below, what these raw inputs actually feed into. Every percentage on an arrow is a published share of the finished product’s price or cost, sourced at the bottom of the page.

Live prices

Prices refresh on load and every 60 seconds. YTD compares the live price with the last close of the previous calendar year. The history column plots month-end closes back as far as the data goes — to 1990 for most metals, grains and livestock, 2000 for crude and natural gas, and 2014 for aluminum; each chart is labelled with its own span.

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What each commodity feeds into

The percentage on each arrow is the commodity’s share of the finished product’s retail price or build cost — not a forecast of how prices will move. Published shares change slowly, so those are the latest readings; where the source gives a physical quantity instead (copper per home, aluminum per vehicle and per can), the figure is recomputed from today’s price and moves with it.

Crude OilWTI, $ / barrel

—
  • Retail gasoline 51.4%
    of what you pay at the pump, 2025 average. Refining took 16.6%, distribution and marketing 17.8%, taxes 14.3%. [1]
  • On-highway diesel ~51%
    of the average US retail diesel price, 2004–2025. [2]

Natural Gas$ / MMBtu

—
  • Nitrogen fertilizer >70%
    of the variable cost of making ammonia, the feedstock behind every nitrogen fertilizer — which is why gas spikes show up in crop costs. [3]

WheatKC hard red winter, ¢ / bushel

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  • All-purpose white flour 18.5%
    farm share of the retail price in 2024: a pound of flour cost 56.5¢, of which the wheat in it was worth 10.5¢. It was 33.0% in 2022. [4]

Live Cattle¢ / lb

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  • Retail beef 52.5%
    farmers’ share of the retail beef dollar, March 2025 — the highest pass-through on this page. [5]

Lean Hogs¢ / lb

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  • Retail pork 22.6%
    farmers’ share of the retail pork dollar, March 2025 — less than half the beef figure, because pork carries far more processing. [5]

Lumber$ / 1,000 board feet

—
  • New single-family home 16.6%
    of construction cost went to the framing stage in 2024 — $70,982 of the average home’s $428,215 build cost, itself 64.4% of the $665,298 average sale price. [6]

Copper$ / lb

—
  • New single-family home —
    An average 2,100 sq ft home holds 439 lb of copper — wiring, plumbing tube, brass goods and appliances — worth — at today’s price, against NAHB’s $665,298 average new-home sale price. [7]

Aluminum$ / tonne

—

Where it goes: transport (vehicle bodies, wheels, EV battery enclosures), beverage and food packaging, building facades and window frames, power transmission cable, and foil. Almost none of it is bought by consumers directly — aluminum reaches household budgets as an indirect cost, embedded in the price of the finished goods below.

  • New light vehicle —
    A North American light vehicle carries about 550 lb of aluminum, worth — at today’s price, against Kelley Blue Book’s $49,855 average transaction price. [9] [10]
  • Beverage can —
    The metal in one 12 oz can weighs 12.99 g, so the aluminum itself costs a fraction of a cent to a few cents — small per can, but the single largest input cost in can-making, and it moves with the price above. [11]

For food overall: US farms received 11.8¢ of every dollar Americans spent on domestically produced food in 2024 — 18.5¢ per dollar of groceries, but only 7.1¢ per dollar spent in restaurants. The other 88.2¢ covers processing, packaging, transport, wholesale and retail. [8]

Sources

  1. US Energy Information Administration, Factors affecting gasoline prices — 2025 annual shares.
  2. US Energy Information Administration, Factors affecting diesel prices — monthly average, 2004–2025.
  3. USDA Economic Research Service, Impact of Rising Natural Gas Prices on U.S. Ammonia Supply — natural gas is over 70% of ammonia variable production cost.
  4. USDA Economic Research Service, Price Spreads from Farm to Consumer — all-purpose white flour, 2024.
  5. USDA Economic Research Service, Meat Price Spreads — farmers’ share of the retail beef and pork dollar, March 2025.
  6. National Association of Home Builders, Cost of Constructing a Home — 2024. Framing stage $70,982 (16.6% of construction cost); the framing-including-roof line item alone is $49,763 (11.6%).
  7. Copper Development Association, Copper in the Home — 439 lb per average 2,100 sq ft single-family home; the dollar value is computed from the live price above.
  8. USDA Economic Research Service, Food Dollar Series — 2024 farm share.
  9. Ducker research for The Aluminum Association — aluminum content per North American light vehicle, about 550 lb; the dollar value is computed from the live price above.
  10. Cox Automotive / Kelley Blue Book, new-vehicle average transaction price — $49,855, July 2026.
  11. The Aluminum Association, Aluminum Can Advantage KPI report — average metallic weight of a 12 oz can, 12.99 g.
  12. Prices and history: Financial Modeling Prep commodity futures quotes.