Gasoline passes gold as year's best commodity: S&P (by Claudia Assis)

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Unleaded gasoline has surpassed gold as the best performing commodity as measured by a Standard & Poor's index, S&P's said Friday. Gasoline has increased 18% so far this year in the S&P GSCI Unleaded Gas Index. S&P's broad commodity index has decreased 7% so far this year. "In a rapidly expanding U.S. economy, unleaded gas prices should be expected to rise due to increasing domestic demand pull forces but in a stagnant economy, higher unleaded gas prices are more of a consumer burden," according to S&P's indices division. Among the individual S&P GSCI energy indices, over the past 12-months up to Oct. 6, the spot S&P GSCI Unleaded Gas Index had the greatest increase, of 25%, "which can be considered a direct negative factor on consumer spending," S&P said. "Unless unleaded gas prices sustain a precipitous decline, little relief should be expected for cash strapped U.S. consumers."