Energy Watch How much does the weather matter for energy commodities? One of the strongest El-Niño’s on record has been largely to blame for the unusually mild winter weather recently. Indeed, last year was the warmest on record and February this year was the hottest... 31st March 2016 · 1 min read
OPEC Watch US Weekly Petroleum Status Report US crude oil inventories hit a new record for the seventh consecutive time last week, despite a surge in inputs to refineries, a further drop in US oil production and lower imports. On the other hand... 30th March 2016 · 1 min read
Metals Watch Is the best yet to come for silver prices? After a weak 2015, the prices of gold and silver have rallied since the beginning of the year, underpinned by safe-haven demand and rising inflation expectations in the US. Yet, silver has failed to... 24th March 2016 · 1 min read
OPEC Watch OPEC production dips in February OPEC production fell in February. However, temporary pipeline outages were the cause of most of the decrease in supply, rather than any concerted effort to cut production. Indeed, it is likely that... 14th March 2016 · 1 min read
Metals Watch Will China become a major metals exporter? It is often easy to forget that China is not only the largest single consumer of metals but, in many cases, also the dominant producer. Of course, in recent years, strong growth in demand meant that... 29th February 2016 · 1 min read
Metals Watch Fundamentals pointing to higher gold prices Since the start of 2016, gold has benefited from a resurgence in safe-haven demand on the back of global financial market woes. While the gold price could fall back a bit if, as we expect, the Fed... 26th February 2016 · 1 min read
Energy Watch When will the oil market rebalance? A potential agreement between some OPEC members and Russia to freeze oil production at January’s levels, along with fears about slowing economic growth in China and the US, have intensified debate... 25th February 2016 · 1 min read
OPEC Watch OPEC Watch OPEC production rose in January as output rebounded after December’s small fall. Even though demand is set to grow by over 1m bpd this year and non-OPEC supply should fall, bulging stocks and high... 10th February 2016 · 1 min read
Energy Watch Where next for oil? Oil prices have slumped dramatically over the last six months, but have rebounded a little over the last week. In this Energy Watch we focus on the main factors likely to drive prices over the next... 5th February 2016 · 1 min read
Energy Watch Is US oil production falling? US oil production has been surprisingly resilient since oil prices collapsed in 2014 as companies have slashed costs and jobs and concentrated on only the most productive sweet spots. In this Energy... 4th February 2016 · 1 min read
OPEC Watch OPEC production dips in December OPEC production slipped in December, led by Saudi Arabia and Nigeria, but the group’s output is still near record highs. Even though demand is set to grow by over 1m bpd this year and non-OPEC supply... 18th January 2016 · 1 min read
Metals Watch What are cost curves telling us about precious metals? Cost curves are a widely-used tool to determine the potential direction of commodities production and prices. Given the weakness in the latter over the last few years, cost curves are currently of... 14th January 2016 · 1 min read
Metals Watch Some reasons to be cheerful on copper The price of copper in US dollar terms has fallen by nearly 30% since the start of 2015. The catalyst for the decline in prices has been the slowdown in China’s economy and fears that it may... 23rd December 2015 · 1 min read
Energy Watch What to expect for coal and gas prices in 2016 In this second Energy Watch of the month, we take a brief look back at the coal and US natural gas markets in 2015. We then set out our forecasts for prices for 2016 and out to 2020. The previous... 18th December 2015 · 1 min read
Energy Watch What to expect for oil prices in 2016 In this Energy Watch we briefly review oil prices in 2015, a year which many investors will probably be glad to see the back of. We then set out our central forecasts for 2016 and out to 2020. However... 11th December 2015 · 1 min read
OPEC Watch OPEC production driven higher by Iraq OPEC production rebounded in November, led by Iraq, which will only add to the glut of oil in the market. Even though demand is set to grow by over 1m bpd next year and non-OPEC supply should fall... 10th December 2015 · 1 min read
