Commodities Update Corn prices to fall further as US harvest not as bad as feared The highlight from the “World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates”, published today by the United States Department for Agriculture (USDA), is a smaller than expected downward revision to the US... 12th September 2012 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Slump in iron ore prices suggests copper prices far too high Even after the slight recovery in the last few days, the price of iron ore has fallen by a third in the last two months. While the unusual contrast with the strength of copper prices can partly be... 11th September 2012 · 1 min read
Commodities Update China's weak commodity imports show fragility of demand Today’s Chinese trade data highlight the continued weakness in demand in the largest global consumer of commodities. Markets have taken some comfort from the increased likelihood of additional... 10th September 2012 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Will silver continue to outperform gold? The dollar price of silver has risen by around 16% since the middle of August, fuelled by the prospects of QE3 and hopes of a stronger industrial recovery, outperforming gold’s 6% increase. However... 5th September 2012 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Export restrictions to have little impact on wheat prices? We believe that fears of a reduction in wheat exports from the Black Sea region are overdone. We do not think that an outright ban is likely either from Russia or Ukraine. Any other forms of export... 29th August 2012 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Will the rebound in the platinum price be sustained? South African labour disputes have caused platinum prices to rebound. We think that weak demand will cause prices to fall back by around 10% before the end of this year. However, recent events have... 29th August 2012 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Talk of return to Gold Standard to come to nothing Reports that the Republican Party will call for the establishment of a commission to examine the case for restoring the link between the dollar and gold may be another positive for the price of the... 24th August 2012 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update The market implications of QE3 The US Fed looks set to launch QE3 soon, but a third injection of the same medicine is unlikely to be anywhere near as effective as the first two in supporting the prices of equities or commodities... 23rd August 2012 · 1 min read
Commodities Update China’s PMI adds to worries about commodities demand China’s flash manufacturing PMI has dropped to its lowest level this year. So far today the impact on commodity prices has been trumped by hopes of further quantitative easing from the US Fed. However... 23rd August 2012 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Brent still likely to end the year below $100 We have revised our near-term forecasts for the price of Brent crude higher to reflect the ongoing support from hopes of global policy stimulus and fears over tensions in the Middle East. However... 21st August 2012 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Fall in ethanol demand to relieve tightness in US corn The near-term prospects for US corn prices depend on an improvement in the weather. However, corn prices could also be dragged lower by a reduction in demand for biofuels – due both to a renewed... 20th August 2012 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Will weak emerging market demand prevent a gold rally? Demand in China and India, the world’s two largest gold consumers, has been unusually been weak in recent months, which has dragged gold prices lower. However, we expect another escalation of the euro... 20th August 2012 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Is the copper market in surplus? Almost all analysts believe that global copper demand is likely to exceed supply this year. We disagree. The official figures over-state Chinese copper consumption and when adjusted for this the... 16th August 2012 · 1 min read
Commodities Update China’s commodity imports remain lacklustre Hopes of a swift rebound in Chinese commodity imports were dashed by today’s trade data which have sent commodity prices lower. We expect this to be a recurring theme as any rebound in China’s economy... 10th August 2012 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Corn prices are poised to fall US corn production estimates published today by the United States Department for Agriculture (USDA) were revised down sharply. However, this was largely anticipated by the market, and was mainly... 10th August 2012 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Lower tin output will not be enough to stop price decline Falling global demand for tin, due to slower economic growth, thrifting and substitution, means we expect tin prices to drop from $17,900 per tonne today to around $16,500 by the end of 2013 despite... 6th August 2012 · 1 min read
