CQS Natural Resources Growth and Income PLC (LON:CYN) has announced that its Fact Sheet as at 31 December 2025 is now available.
The Company’s NAV rose 10.3% in December, driven by continued strong precious metal prices. Gold rose 2.5% in December to end the year up 64%, while silver, despite some significant volatility, ended the month up 26%, closing the year with a 148% gain. Precious metals remained leading performers, supported by ongoing geopolitical risks and concerns about the burden of continued increases in government indebtedness, amid muted underlying economic growth.
Despite the muted economic backdrop, industrial metals saw gains. The US copper price rose by over 7%, back to prior-year highs, as the region continued to draw inventory from the rest of the world. As a result, US exchange inventories of copper reached a new high at close to 500kt, equivalent to around half the country’s imports in 2024, which is not generally associated with stronger pricing. The trust’s historically low 4.9% copper weighting reflects our cautious view of the copper miners’ valuations, and so it is weighted toward discounted developers such as Solgold. US domestic stocks are now providing a more substantial buffer to absorb potential future tariffs and supply shocks.
Oil prices remained soft, with Brent falling 1.8%. Anticipation of an oil glut continues to weigh on the sector following OPEC’s return to a market-share-focused strategy. Even news of the US capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and seizing sanctioned vessels exporting Venezuelan oil provided little obvious support to relieve subdued investor sentiment towards the sector. Ongoing RussianUkrainian ceasefire talks increased the likelihood of a deal in 2026, though the path to such an outcome
remains uncertain. Nevertheless, this also weighed on sentiment, with expectations that a deal could see more Russian oil flow. Tensions with Iran also rose as the Trump Administration threatened to intervene in affairs if government forces attacked protesters, as the governing regime struggles to manage the economic crisis while Western sanctions bite.
The Company’s positioning remains little changed moving into 2026, with the outlook for fundamentals remaining similar to 2025 across broader markets. Against a backdrop of aggressive US trade policies, aggregate demand growth remains relatively muted, inflation remains persistent, and the “affordability” of government borrowing remains a key focus despite expected interest rate easing. This cocktail of factors is notably undermining the purchasing power of many global currencies, including the dollar.
More broadly, the dominant AI weighting within investment strategies remains a key factor driving wider market momentum, though with little clarity on BigTech’s ability to monetise spending and justify the huge capex outlays being made, we believe tangible assets, including commodities, may represent a beneficial diversification to passive investment styles that remain a significant feature of broader markets.
The most significant contributors to the Fund’s NAV increase were gold producers Greatland Resources and Emerald Resources, whose share prices rose by 30.5% and 19.4%, respectively. Other notable contributions came from explorer-developer South Cross Gold, whose share price increased by 47.9%. Following a 34.8% rise in the share price, explorer Talon Metals also made a valuable positive contribution. Offshore oil and gas drill rig leasing company Transocean and crude shipper Frontline were minor drags on performance, with the share prices of both ending the month around 5% lower.
During the month, the Trust took some profits in gold producers West African Gold, Emerald Resources, and Ora Banda. Some of these proceeds were reinvested in Polymetals, which is restarting a silver-abundant mine, along with E&P producer Spartan Delta and Australian gas explorer Tamboran Resources.
CQS Natural Resources Growth and Income plc (LON:CYN) is a closed end UK investment trust providing shareholders with capital growth and income from a portfolio of mining and resource equities and mining, resource, industrial and other fixed interest securities.
