Energy Watch IMO 2020 not a major issue for oil With the upcoming change to regulations on marine fuel sulphur content due to come into effect on January 2020, this Energy Watch will examine the implications for the oil market. While we don’t... 11th December 2018 · 1 min read
OPEC Watch What to expect from the OPEC meeting We expect OPEC and its allies to agree to cut oil output at this week’s OPEC meeting. This should at least put a floor under prices and may, depending on the size of the cut, boost prices. But with... 5th December 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Watch Baltic Dry Index: It’s all about coal The Baltic Dry Index (BDI, a measure of shipping costs for the world’s dry bulk commodities) is often cited as a bellwether of economic growth. As such, the recent slump should be cause for concern... 22nd November 2018 · 1 min read
Metals Watch Iron ore prices to weaken The price of iron ore has jumped on the back of expectations of weaker anti-pollution measures in China. In this Metals Watch we explain why we think higher prices will prove short-lived. 16th November 2018 · 1 min read
OPEC Watch OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report (Oct.) OPEC has revised down its forecast for oil demand in 2019 and raised its non-OPEC supply projection. This is consistent with our view that the market will be in surplus next year, which will weigh on... 13th November 2018 · 1 min read
OPEC Watch OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report (Sep.) The latest data suggest that Saudi Arabia is indeed capable of increasing production in order to offset falls in output in Iran and Venezuela. Weaker oil demand growth and higher supply from both OPEC... 11th October 2018 · 1 min read
Energy Watch Brent/WTI spread to narrow in 2019 There is now a large differential between the prices of US-based WTI oil and the more international benchmark, Brent. In our view, this spread could widen further in the near term, but we expect it to... 9th October 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Watch Sweeter times ahead for sugar The price of sugar has dropped sharply in response to a supply glut, making it one of the worst performing commodities so far this year. In this Commodities Watch, we outline some recent trends in the... 28th September 2018 · 1 min read
Metals Watch Zinc prices to weaken again in 2019 In recent days, the price of zinc has rebounded a little after plummeting over the summer. In this Metals Watch we will discuss why we think that any rally will prove short-lived. A slew of new mines... 26th September 2018 · 1 min read
Metals Watch Are industrial metals oversold? We had always expected metals prices to decline this year on the back of a slowdown in China’s economy. However, even we have been surprised by the scale of the falls in prices, which we think have... 12th September 2018 · 1 min read
OPEC Watch OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report (August) The latest data show that Saudi Arabia still has sufficient spare capacity to increase production if it needed to offset falls in output in Iran and Venezuela. Slower growth in demand and higher... 12th September 2018 · 1 min read
Energy Watch Why have US drilling rigs plateaued? The relationship between the number of US drilling rigs and oil prices appears to have broken down recently as drilling rigs have failed to rise in line with oil prices. This Energy Watch will examine... 30th August 2018 · 1 min read
OPEC Watch OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report (July) The latest data show that Saudi Arabia still has plenty of room to increase production if it needed to offset falls in Iran and Venezuela. As such, the group’s production should continue to rise, at... 13th August 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Watch Slower growth in China to constrain demand As a major consumer of commodities, any slowdown in China’s economy has negative implications for global commodities demand and prices. That said, the impact is actually likely to be quite nuanced... 10th August 2018 · 1 min read
Metals Watch Is the sell-off in industrial metals overdone? Trade tensions between the US and China have escalated further in recent weeks, prompting sharp declines in the prices of industrial metals. In this Metals Watch we look at the reasons why metals... 13th July 2018 · 1 min read
OPEC Watch OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report (June) We think that OPEC’s production is likely to rise significantly over the next couple of months. That said, it could fall back later in the year as output from Iran is curtailed and Venezuelan... 11th July 2018 · 1 min read
