Cotton futures slid 0.6% to $85.10 per pound, softening commodity futures prices across the textile sector. Analysts eye upcoming USDA supply reports for potential trend reversals. Gold (GCZ25) prices overnight hit another record high of $3,922.70, basis December Comex futures. Siver (SIZ25) prices scored another 14-year high of $47.825 in December futures. Better safe-haven demand amid the uncertainty of the U.S. government shutting down at midnight last night is the latest bullish catalyst for the two precious metals. This study examines how commodity financialization—marked by surging capital inflows and new financial instruments like ETFs—affects commodity pricing dynamics by analyzing inventory-linked convenience yield and investor behavior. Based on the extended theory of storage, using futures market data from 1994 to 2021, this paper examines the efficiency of the factor models in capturing financialization in commodity markets. Furthermore, Fama-MacBeth regression, structural vector autoregressive (SVAR) model, and several statistical indicators are adopted to illustrate the roles of heterogeneous investor behavior in explaining and forecasting commodity pricing. The empirical results can be summarized as follows. Firstly, a financialization-inclusive two-factor model outperforms a single-factor model in aligning with actual commodity futures prices and their term structure. Secondly, non-commercial traders dominate trend-following trades, while commercial traders dominate counter-trend trades. Thirdly, heterogeneous investors’ positions have both short- and long-term predictive effects on commodity prices. In summary, this paper demonstrates the importance of investor behavior for commodity pricing and provides policymakers with regulatory insights. Commodity futures prices for platinum rose to $928.50 per ounce, gaining 0.9%, supported by automotive sector demand recovery and supply constraints from South African mines.