Portfolio Update

BLACKROCK COMMODITIES INCOME INVESTMENT TRUST plc (LEI:54930040ALEAVPMMDC31)
All information is at 31 January 2019 and unaudited.
Performance at month end with net income reinvested
One Three Six One Three Five
Month Months Months Year Years Years
Net asset value 6.7% -1.1% -10.0% 0.1% 77.3% 4.2%
Share price 1.7% -0.5% -10.6% -5.6% 65.8% -3.3%
Sources: Datastream, BlackRock
At month end
Net asset value – capital only: 77.14p
Net asset value cum income*: 77.57p
Share price: 72.00p
Discount to NAV (cum income): 7.2%
Net yield: 5.6%
Gearing - cum income: 10.8%
Total assets^: £99.5m
Ordinary shares in issue: 116,126,515
Gearing range (as a % of net assets): 0-20%
Ongoing charges**: 1.4%
* Includes net revenue of 0.43p.
^ Includes current year revenue.
** Calculated as a percentage of average net assets and using expenses, excluding any interest costs and excluding taxation for the year ended 30 November 2018.
Sector Analysis % Total Assets Country Analysis % Total Assets 
Integrated Oil 29.1 Global 63.1
Diversified Mining 27.1 USA 13.4
Copper 11.1 Canada 12.1
Exploration & Production 9.9 Latin America 5.2
Gold 7.8 Australia 4.4
Industrial Minerals 4.8 Asia 1.5
Silver 3.6 Africa 0.5
Diamonds 2.3 Net current liabilities -0.2
Electricity 1.8 -----
Distribution 1.2 100.0
Aluminium 0.8 =====
Steel 0.7
Net current liabilities -0.2
-----
100.0
=====
Ten Largest Investments
Company
Region of Risk % Total Assets
First Quantum Minerals Global 8.1
BHP Global 7.3
Royal Dutch Shell ‘B’ Global 6.4
Rio Tinto Global 6.2
BP Group Global 5.1
Chevron Global 4.4
Exxon Mobil Global 4.4
Teck Resources Canada 3.7
Glencore Global 3.3
ConocoPhillips USA 3.3

Commenting on the markets, Olivia Markham and Tom Holl, representing the Investment Manager noted:

The Company’s NAV increased by 6.7% during the month of January (in GBP terms).

The mining sector started the year strongly as mined commodity prices recovered after a challenging Q4 2018. This recovery was in spite of economic data from China remaining relatively lacklustre, with the country’s manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) coming in below 50 for the first time in 19 months. However, the direction of travel for the macro backdrop appeared positive as China announced further stimulus measures and expectations around the US interest rate path were revised down. The latter contributed towards the US Dollar depreciating over the month which acted as a tailwind for commodity prices. Bulk commodities rallied, with the iron ore (62% fe) price rising 18.2% on the back of seasonal restocking at Chinese steel mills, as well as Vale’s announced iron ore suspension. Base metals were also up with copper, zinc and nickel prices rising by 3.4%, 8.4% and 17.0% respectively. Nickel’s strong performance appeared to reflect a short squeeze in the futures market in response to declining LME (London Metal Exchange)inventories.

Within the energy sector, Brent and WTI (West Texas Intermediate) posted strong positive returns, increasing by 23.5% and 19.3%, to finish the month at $62/bbl and $54/bbl respectively. This strong performance of the oil price was based on continued compliance by OPEC of their 1.2mbpd cuts, as well as the curtailment of crude oil production by the Albertan government in December, which is beginning to be reflected in the market.  In addition, the US announced sanctions on Venezuelan oil and officially recognised the opposition leader as the rightful president. These sanctions will make it harder for Venezuela to export oil, supporting the market tightening.

For the Company, our exposure to the copper sub-sector contributed positively to performance. Our position in First Quantum was the top performer, after the company reported preliminary Q4 production results during the month which came in ahead of expectations.  In addition, our exposure to some Exploration & Production (E&P) names benefitted returns in a rising oil price environment, with our positions in Devon Energy, Noble Energy and Kosmos Energy appearing amongst the top contributors to performance during the month.



All data points in US dollar terms unless otherwise specified. Commodity price moves sourced from Thomson Reuters Datastream.
 
ENDS
Latest information is available by typing www.blackrock.co.uk/brci on the internet, "BLRKINDEX" on Reuters, "BLRK" on Bloomberg or "8800" on Topic 3 (ICV terminal).  Neither the contents of the Manager’s website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Manager’s website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.
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