Commodities Update Strong dollar puts pressure on commodities Commodity prices have suffered since the middle of October, with the Bloomberg Commodities Index underperforming equities by a sizeable margin. The strong appreciation of the US dollar weighed heavily... 17th November 2015 · 1 min read
Energy Update Risks to Middle East oil supplies remain high Ample global supply of oil means that prices are no longer incorporating much of a risk premium. However, the potential for disruption is still high and lack of spare capacity mean that prices could... 17th November 2015 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Lower copper price premium may have an upside Given prevailing market conditions, reports that Codelco has cut copper price premiums for 2016 sharply was hardly that surprising. We therefore think the negative market reaction has been overdone... 17th November 2015 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Solar to provide additional support to silver prices Over the next few years, the price of silver should benefit further from governments’ increased focus on reducing global carbon dioxide emissions through investing in renewable energy. Solar energy is... 17th November 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update First global deficit in six years to lift sugar prices in 2016 After surging in early October due to a rise in Brazilian fuel prices, the world price for sugar has remained strong but volatile. Despite poor harvests in Brazil and the EU, further price rises this... 16th November 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Oil prices should recover soon as market rebalances Last week’s slide in the price of crude oil has prompted us to lower our end-2015 forecasts, but we continue to expect a gradual recovery over the coming year. In particular, the latest news on global... 16th November 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Coffee prices likely to perk up Weak producer currencies have supported coffee exports and weighed on US dollar prices. But with depleted inventories, we think a tighter market will put upward pressure on prices next year. 13th November 2015 · 1 min read
Energy Update Demand growth to help soak up excess oil supplies Growth in demand for oil should remain strong over the next few years, despite concerns about slower growth in emerging economies. However, in the long term demand will be constrained by improvements... 13th November 2015 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Making sense of the China data A deluge of Chinese data this week has coincided with a renewed slump in most metals prices. However, while the headlines have focused on the negatives, our interpretation of the data is that the... 13th November 2015 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Q3 World Gold Council Demand Trends In its latest World Demand Trends report, published today, the World Gold Council outlined an improving picture in Q3. Demand surged by 8% y/y during the quarter, as subdued prices encouraged buying... 12th November 2015 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Can protectionism save beleaguered aluminium producers? With profits under pressure, aluminium producers outside China have recently campaigned for protectionist trade measures in an attempt to defend themselves against cheap Chinese imports. However, we... 12th November 2015 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Prices fail to heed fundamentals Ongoing declines in stocks of many LME metals have failed to prevent prices from falling further over the last month. Of course, stocks can be subject to manipulation and may not be an accurate... 11th November 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Grain & soybean mountains to depress prices further A sharp upward revision to Chinese corn stocks means that global end-year inventories are now expected to be at a record high. With a bloated global supply picture, we think further weakness in the... 11th November 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Unloved copper set to rebound The price of copper is languishing below US$5,000 per tonne, undermined by negative sentiment towards commodities in general and concerns about demand from China in particular. Nonetheless, the... 11th November 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Malaysia Monthly Palm Oil Data (Oct.) Data released earlier today by Malaysia’s Palm Oil Board show that palm oil production rose in October, helping to push inventories higher. 11th November 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Brazil Sugar Production (16th Oct. – 1st Nov.) Figures released today by Brazil’s Sugarcane Industry Association, UNICA, show that 38.4 million tonnes of cane were harvested in the second half of October in the main South-Central cane-growing... 10th November 2015 · 1 min read