The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that gold and iron ore are the standout commodities so far this year, but the performance of their respective miners are far more divergent -- and weighted in favour of the precious metal. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that spot gold is up 14 per cent since the end of last year, while the benchmark iron ore for delivery to China gained 14.6 per cent. While there is a COVID-19 element to both commodities' popularity, what investors are buying into is the belief that the weak global economy and expected extended recovery period mean low interest rates and heightened volatility of other asset classes. Given that iron ore has rallied to a 10-month high and has both bullish stories for both demand and supply, it is perhaps surprising that the top miners are generally not sharing the good news. Shares in Rio Tinto, which derives the bulk of its profits from its iron ore mines, are down 3.7 per cent so far this year in Australian dollars and 4.8 per cent in U.S. dollar terms. Meanwhile, gold miners have been performing quite well. Barrick Gold has seen its stock price jump 29.8 per cent in U.S. dollars so far this year, while Newmont has gained 27.6 per cent.