Commodities Weekly Commodities down in the dumps Despite a swathe of news that should have been positive, commodity prices struggled to make gains this week as concerns about global growth continue to weigh on sentiment. Even the strong US... 5th July 2019 · 7 mins read
Commodities Weekly Outcome of G20 and OPEC meetings to drive prices Commodity markets have been relatively quiet ahead of the G20 meeting (this weekend) and OPEC meetings (Monday and Tuesday). Investors are optimistic that a truce on trade will be agreed when... 28th June 2019 · 6 mins read
Commodities Weekly Middle East tensions back in the spotlight Having surged this week, the price of oil could rise further in the near term if tensions between Iran and the US continue to escalate. At the same time, the price of gold is benefitting from an... 21st June 2019 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Demand concerns are now driving prices Markets appear to have come round to our long-held view that slower economic activity this year will weigh on the prices of most energy and industrial commodities. Not even an attack on oil tankers... 14th June 2019 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Fed easing not a panacea for commodities Driven in large part by investors pricing in a greater degree of interest rate cuts in the US, the gold price leapt to its highest level in over a year this week. That same anticipation of policy... 7th June 2019 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Trade back in the driving seat Trade was the big theme this week once again, with China suggesting it could restrict exports of rare earth elements to the US, as well as a rise in US-Mexico trade tensions. Consequently, the prices... 31st May 2019 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Demand concerns spreading to oil Weak flash PMIs in major advanced economies, especially in the US, have led to increased worries about the demand for industrial commodities. As a result, the recent softness in industrial metal... 24th May 2019 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Geopolitics will be a factor in OPEC’s output policy Softer April activity and spending data out of China and negative sentiment surrounding the impasse in US-China trade talks weighed on the prices of many metals this week. We had always suspected that... 17th May 2019 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Tariffs are not good news for commodity prices President Trump’s decision to ratchet up the pressure on China by raising trade tariffs weighed heavily on most commodity prices this week. However, market sentiment improved a little on Friday as it... 10th May 2019 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Commodity prices take direction from the Fed Weaker-than-expected Chinese manufacturing surveys and a fairly hawkish statement from the Fed sent the prices of most commodities lower again this week. Industrial commodities prices were also hit... 3rd May 2019 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Strong US growth fails to impress commodities The prices of commodities mostly fell this week, despite Friday’s data showing stronger-than-expected Q1 growth in the US. Even oil prices ended this week lower. Having initially jumped when the US... 26th April 2019 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Commodities shrug off better news from China The stronger-than-expected economic activity data released this week by China failed to boost commodity markets. Part of the reason is probably that some of the good news had already been priced in... 18th April 2019 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Waiting for the next big move It has been a relatively quiet week in most commodity markets, except for energy. Oil prices rose again, to over $70 per barrel for Brent, on news of military operations in Libya. However, we think at... 12th April 2019 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Maybe the good news is priced in? All the signs are that US-China trade talks are progressing well. On Friday, there were even media reports that the two sides had agreed timelines for implementing a deal. Given the good news on trade... 5th April 2019 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Downhill from here … After a strong first quarter, we expect the prices of most commodities to ease back over the course of 2019 on the back of subdued growth in demand. There are now broad-based signs of slower growth in... 29th March 2019 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Price gains on borrowed time In a week when fears about global economic growth were stoked by a dovish Fed and weak euro-zone flash PMI readings for March, commodity prices actually performed rather well. However, we think that... 22nd March 2019 · 1 min read