Commodities Update The Brazilian real and commodity prices Our forecast that the Brazilian real will recoup some lost ground by end-2020 should put upward pressure on the prices of its commodity exports. However, other factors, such as the health of the... 27th May 2020 · 3 mins read
Commodities Update Some initial thoughts on China’s NPC At the time of writing, we still lack the detail on China’s policy plans. That said, the headline expansion in the budget deficit and plans to boost credit growth are unequivocally positive for... 22nd May 2020 · 3 mins read
Industrial Metals Update China infrastructure splurge to prop up iron ore price The fiscal stimulus announced today at the National People’s Congress in China failed to make much of a splash in metals markets. Nevertheless, we think it will underpin stronger iron ore demand this... 22nd May 2020 · 2 mins read
Energy Update Natural gas price convergence to be short-lived In recent weeks, all three major natural gas benchmarks have traded at more-or-less the same price. Rather than a structural shift in the market, we think this probably reflects regional prices simply... 18th May 2020 · 2 mins read
Commodities Update The corn market to move into a surplus next season While we generally agree with the USDA’s latest projections for 2019/20, we suspect that they are being too optimistic on agricultural supply in 2020/21. Nevertheless, we expect a pick-up in corn... 13th May 2020 · 3 mins read
Energy Update Global oil supply to fall to a five-year low Low oil prices, OPEC+ production cuts and delays to investment should reduce global oil supply by over 6% this year. This is one reason why we expect prices to end the year higher. 11th May 2020 · 4 mins read
Commodities Update China’s commodity imports look set to fall China’s commodity imports have held up well so far this year, but weak external orders and subdued domestic demand point to lower volumes in the months to come. 7th May 2020 · 2 mins read
Commodities Update Why have commodities underperformed US equities? The partial recovery in the S&P 500 suggests a return of investor risk appetite. But commodity indices have plumbed new lows. We think a couple of points are worth making about this apparent... 1st May 2020 · 2 mins read
Precious Metals Update Q1 2020 World Gold Council Demand Trends While a surge in ETF inflows offset weak physical demand in Q1, we don’t expect this to be repeated over the coming quarters. After all, many of the factors that have boosted the investment appeal of... 30th April 2020 · 3 mins read
Energy Update Texas regulator unlikely to succeed where OPEC failed Next week, the Texas Railroad Commission could mandate measures to curb oil production in Texas for the first time since the 1970s. However, even if they do decide to curtail output, we think that the... 30th April 2020 · 3 mins read
Commodities Update China’s PMIs offer scant support to commodity prices China’s official and unofficial PMIs dipped in April, almost entirely owing to weak export orders. A strong performance by the construction sector provides some relief for industrial metals prices... 30th April 2020 · 2 mins read
Industrial Metals Update China stockpiling is not a long-term solution The incentives offered by China’s provincial governments will artificially boost demand for base metals, especially lead and zinc. As a result, smelters who may have cut supply or shut altogether may... 29th April 2020 · 3 mins read
Energy Update Compliance by OPEC’s allies to improve over time OPEC’s allies recently agreed to cut output from May. While compliance with quotas is usually sub-par, we think that adherence to the quotas will be greater this time, in part because oil prices are... 24th April 2020 · 3 mins read
Commodities Update WTI tumbles below zero as the oil storage runs out The spot price of WTI turned negative yesterday in large part owing to the nature of trading in the futures market. That said, the price slump has some fundamental underpinning as demand is very weak... 21st April 2020 · 3 mins read
Industrial Metals Update Vale cuts won’t prevent iron ore surplus Vale, the world’s second largest iron ore producer, has cut its iron ore output guidance for 2020 by nearly 30m tonnes. Although significant, we don’t think it will be enough to push the market into a... 20th April 2020 · 3 mins read
Precious Metals Update Not much road left for gold The gold price has benefitted lately from demand for “safe” assets and an apparent easing of deflationary fears. While we also doubt that an extended period of deflation is on the cards, runaway... 17th April 2020 · 3 mins read
