Commodities Weekly Sanctions on Russia send aluminium soaring Geopolitical concerns intensified this week and led to sharp increases in those commodities at risk of disruptions to supply. In particular, the price of aluminium surged following the announcement of... 13th April 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Protectionist rhetoric weighs on prices Trade tensions escalated this week, as the US and China engaged in tit-for-tat announcements on proposed tariffs. The prices of commodities which would be affected by the tariffs generally fell... 6th April 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly A quiet week for commodities Commodity markets took something of a breather this week after last week’s sharp moves. Fears of a trade war between the US and China have receded a little, which helped to stabilise prices. The... 29th March 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Trump’s tariffs unsettle investors The US was the focus of markets this week. The Fed hiked its target rate by 25bp on Wednesday to 1.50%-1.75% but this had been widely anticipated and there was little reaction in commodity markets. In... 23rd March 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly All quiet on the commodities front There were few large moves in commodity prices this week. China’s activity data for the first two months of the year, published on Wednesday, were reasonably strong but failed to give a material lift... 16th March 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Trump’s tariffs become reality The big news this week was confirmation of President Trump’s tariffs on US steel and aluminium imports on national security grounds. This sent US steel prices even higher, but weighed on prices in... 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Trump’s tariffs target commodities It was generally a negative week for commodity prices. Oil prices tumbled and precious metals prices were buffeted by Jerome Powell’s testimony, which all but ensured a rate hike this month. China’s... 2nd March 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Sentiment sours in the metals markets The prices of most precious and industrial metals fell back this week in the wake of a small appreciation of the US dollar. The FOMC minutes, released on Wednesday, all but ensured another US rate... 23rd February 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Commodities spring back The prices of most commodities rose this week, helped by a depreciation of the US dollar and a revival in global equity prices. Industrial metals, in particular, posted some large gains, although... 16th February 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Commodities caught in the cross-fire The prices of metals and energy commodities slumped this week in the wake of the sell-off in global equity markets and a general move out of riskier assets. Markets shrugged off data showing strong... 9th February 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Prices take a tumble on payrolls The prices of many commodities drifted lower over the course of the week. But the negative tone was set more firmly on Friday by the release of data showing strong growth in US non-farm payrolls and... 2nd February 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly It is all about the dollar Most commodity prices rose this week on the back of further broad-based falls in the US dollar. At the same time, the euro strengthened as ECB President Mario Draghi struck a fairly positive note at... 26th January 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Commodity price rally stalls The prices of many industrial commodities, including oil, fell this week despite the ongoing depreciation of the US dollar. The dollar was volatile, but ended the week lower. On Thursday, the... 19th January 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Commodities shrug off weak Chinese imports The prices of most commodities edged higher this week. Industrial metals rallied despite Chinese trade data showing that domestic demand had weakened at the end of 2017. Meanwhile, heightened... 12th January 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly A cautious start to the year The prices of most commodities trended higher this week, supported by a weaker US dollar. Falling US stocks and heightened geopolitical risk pushed the oil price higher. In contrast, industrial metals... 5th January 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly 2017 ends on a positive note The prices of most commodities edged higher this week, bolstered by a weaker US dollar. There is now evidence that the government-mandated winter cuts in China have started to take their toll on... 21st December 2017 · 1 min read
