But commodity markets aren't easy to read, with little certainty about demand and supply in China - the world's second-biggest economy and the engine of the last commodities boom - or the intentions of the world's top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia.
"It's hard to play commodities when bigger things are at force like Saudi and China," said Simon Ruddick, chairman and co-founder at consultant Albourne Partners, which advises on $400 billion of hedge fund assets.
The S&P Goldman Sachs Commodity index closed up 102 points at 2,170 following the IEA report, after hitting a 26-year low in January. Further rises are expected to encourage more money back into the sector.
In anticipation, Quality Capital Management (QCM) has soft-launched a strategy called the Commodity Directional Programme, which makes bets on the price of industrial commodity futures.
"Some investors are looking at this asset class more favorably now as undervalued, and hence reconsidering a dedicated exposure to commodities for the long term," said Aref Karim, founder, chief executive officer and chief investment officer at QCM.
Tapan Datta, head of global asset allocation at Aon Hewitt, which advises pension funds on $35 billion of hedge fund assets, believes there are potentially some medium-term investment opportunities in the aftermath of the oil price collapse.
"We are working on the idea that there is stabilization in prices and a modest rebound at work. Hedge funds are a way to play commodities given the likelihood that high levels of volatility are likely to continue."