Commodities Watch How important is Africa for agriculturals? Given Africa’s large size and geographic diversity, most of the world’s key agricultural commodities are produced somewhere on the continent. In this Commodities Watch, we first discuss the importance... 28th June 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly The losing streak continues It has been a poor week for most commodity prices. The Fed’s decision to hike interest rates on Wednesday weighed on the prices of gold and industrial metals. Oil prices continued to drop, partly due... 16th June 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly A case of the jitters hits commodity markets Oil prices have continued to fall on fears that the OPEC supply cuts will not be sufficient to clear the excess in the market. In addition, a weak May unofficial PMI reading out of China on Thursday... 2nd June 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Chart Pack A weaker dollar fails to lift commodities With the exception of a few agriculturals, the prices of most commodities fell last month. Markets chose to shrug off the persistent weakness in the US dollar. Instead, data showing a slowdown in... 1st June 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Watch WASDE projections a mixed bag for agriculturals On the 11th May, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) published its first projections for the 2017/18 season. In this Commodities Watch, we discuss the USDA estimates and what they mean for our... 22nd May 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Watch Poor prospects for the price of palm oil The price of palm oil has been falling so far in 2017, in tandem with most other agricultural commodities. In this Commodities Watch, we will discuss whether the recent price weakness is justified by... 10th May 2017 · 1 min read
India Economics Update Rupee surges to 20-month high The rally in the Indian rupee since the start of 2017 has continued in recent weeks, driving the currency to its highest rate against the US dollar in almost two years. While we doubt that the rally... 21st April 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Chart Pack A month of two halves After a weak start to the month, the prices of both gold and oil subsequently rebounded, despite the Fed’s decision to hike interest rates. The accompanying dovish statement lowered expectations of... 3rd April 2017 · 1 min read
India Chart Pack Demonetisation impact wearing off The latest economic data for India suggest that the most acute impact from the government’s demonetisation measures has now passed. Both the manufacturing and services PMI readings for February came... 23rd March 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Optimism prevails, for now It has been an eventful week in commodity markets but, for the most part, prices have risen. The US 25bp rate hike on Wednesday was widely anticipated so markets chose to focus on the fact that the... 17th March 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Watch Policy uncertainty is weighing on US agriculture In late February, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) published its first assessment of the prospects for US crops in 2017/18. In this Commodities Watch, we will discuss the USDA’s forecasts and... 8th March 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Commodity prices brace themselves for Fed tightening The big news this week was the ratcheting up of expectations of an imminent rate hike by the Fed, which weighed on most commodity prices. That said, the prices of US grains and soybeans rose, on... 3rd March 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Chart Pack Commodities hold on to their gains, despite uncertainty Most commodity prices traded in a narrow range last month, in the absence of clarity on developments in China (owing to the Lunar New Year Holiday) and on US policy direction. That said, the price of... 1st March 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Commodities still looking for direction Commodity prices were broadly unchanged this week, aside from a few notable exceptions. Cobalt was the star performer as concerns about supply and expectations of strong demand led to a surge in... 24th February 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Commodities consolidate While a slight weakening of the US dollar provided some support to prices this week, individual demand and supply fundamentals were the main drivers. Oil prices fell as a further rise in US stocks... 17th February 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Investors still in love with commodities The prices of most commodities have risen since the start of the year, boosted by optimism about demand and, in some cases, disrupted supply. A period of weakness in the US dollar has helped, but the... 14th February 2017 · 1 min read
