Metals Data Response China and India’s gold imports (Feb.) Gold imports by both China and India remained weak in February. We think this was partly due to the strength of the gold price and partly to temporary factors, notably the Lunar New Year holidays in... 29th March 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Markets pause for a reality check Industrial commodity prices have typically eased back in the past week in sympathy with other assets, as markets have reassessed the outlook for US interest rates and the dollar. In particular,... 24th March 2016 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Fed adopts cavalier attitude to inflation rebound The downward revision to the Fed’s interest rate projections at the March FOMC meeting, despite little change in the economic projections, has prompted plenty of speculation that its “reaction... 24th 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
Energy Chart Pack Oil prices surge as sentiment bounces back A weaker dollar, fading fears about the economies of both the US and China, combined with a positive turn in sentiment towards commodities and risky assets in general have helped to boost oil prices... 24th March 2016 · 1 min read
Energy Data Response US Weekly Petroleum Status Report US crude oil inventories hit a new record for the sixth consecutive time last week as a surge in imports filled storage tanks. On the other hand, gasoline stocks fell sharply and US crude oil... 23rd March 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Key commodity prices set for further gains Followers of our relatively upbeat research since January may not be surprised to hear that we expect many commodity prices to rally further. (See our quarterly Commodities Analyst, “Oil to lead a... 23rd March 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Palm oil prices to fall back later in the year With the negative effects of El Niño on palm oil production likely to continue in the coming months, we have raised our near-term price forecast. But as output returns to normal and competition from... 23rd March 2016 · 1 min read
Energy Update Will oil prices continue to recover? The foundations of the recent recovery in oil prices look a little shaky and some temporary pull-backs may be inevitable. For now we are therefore leaving our end-2016 forecasts (for both Brent and... 23rd March 2016 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Too far, too fast for Chinese steel prices Chinese steel prices have surged recently but we think they are unlikely to hold on to their recent gains, as the underlying fundamentals remain weak. Although we expect growth in steel usage to turn... 23rd March 2016 · 1 min read
Metals Data Response Global Steel Production (Feb.) World Steel Association (WSA) data, released today, show that global steel output fell by 3.3% year on year in February, although this represented an improvement from the January drop of 7.1%. 21st March 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Weak start to 2016 continues for China’s agricultural imports The detailed Chinese import data for February, released earlier today, indicate that import demand for agricultural commodities continued its generally lacklustre start to the year. 21st March 2016 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update China’s metals imports surge at the start of the year Strong growth in China’s metals imports, which started in the final quarter of 2015, continued in January-February. Some of the buying may have been opportunistic, given low prices, but it also points... 21st March 2016 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update China’s PGM imports soar in February China’s imports of palladium and platinum continued to rise strongly in February. We expect imports to remain buoyant over the coming months as car output trends higher and demand for platinum... 21st March 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Fed’s apparent “dovishness” cheers the markets Commodities have benefited in the past week from a continued improvement in investor sentiment, helped by a relatively dovish statement from the US central bank which weakened the dollar further... 18th March 2016 · 1 min read
Metals Chart Pack Gold continues to shine on rising inflationary pressures Precious metals prices rallied over the past month, bolstered by a weaker US dollar and a lessening of fears over a slowdown in China. While gold benefited from the Fed’s dovishness in its latest... 18th March 2016 · 1 min read
