Commodities Weekly China’s “devaluation” lifts precious metals prices The People’s Bank of China surprised markets on Tuesday by lowering the reference rate that determines the mid-point of the renminbi’s trading band against the US dollar. Although the bank explained... 14th August 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Boost to US harvests puts prices under more pressure Higher estimates by the USDA for US corn and soybean production this year (2015/16) have seen crop prices plummet. But with ample world supplies and rising stocks, we think prices can fall further. 13th August 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update What China’s ‘‘devaluation’’ means for commodity prices All else equal, a weaker renminbi means that US dollar-denominated commodities will be more expensive in local currency terms for Chinese buyers. However, with the renminbi unlikely to go into... 12th August 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Further fall in Brazilian real could add to sugar’s woes Continued weakness in the Brazilian currency could undermine the price of sugar further. However, we think greater ethanol production and consumption in Brazil will provide some support to the price... 11th August 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Malaysia Monthly Palm Oil Data (Jul.) Data released earlier today by Malaysia’s Palm Oil Board show that crude palm oil production in July reached its highest monthly level since October last year. Stocks also rose sharply, adding to... 10th August 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Corn prices to fall, despite lower EU harvest Despite a large downgrade to the outlook for the EU’s 2015 corn harvest, global supplies and stocks are likely to remain high. As such, we think the price of corn will fall further this year. 7th August 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Weak demand to push soybean prices lower The continued fall in China’s pig herd is likely to undermine soybean demand growth over the second half of the year. Coupled with ample supplies, we think soybean prices will end the year lower. 6th August 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Investor sentiment wanes Surging prices of a number of agricultural commodities from mid June to early July saw investors increase the number of net long non-commercial positions. However, recent improvements in the prospects... 6th August 2015 · 1 min read
China Economics Update Pork prices boost headline inflation Consumer price inflation is likely to have risen to an 11-month high in July on the back of surging pork prices. Volatility in food inflation aside, the bigger picture is that inflation is set to edge... 5th August 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Plenty of upside for the price of lumber The price of US lumber fell almost 30% between the start of the year and mid-May, weighed down by a poor start to the year for US housing starts. After a brief rally in June, the price has slumped... 31st July 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Weak demand will push palm oil prices lower With huge soybean supplies likely to push down the price of soy oil, we expect demand for palm oil to remain weak. Combined with high stocks, we think the price of palm oil will fall further this year... 30th July 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update High inventories & strong US dollar to wilt wheat prices The price of US wheat has been on a rollercoaster over the past two months. However, with high global stocks and a stronger US dollar, we think prices will trend down over the remainder of the year. 29th July 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Short-term supply concerns boost prices Renewed strength of the US dollar over the past month and a deterioration in sentiment towards commodities in general as an asset class, have been headwinds for commodity prices. However, short-term... 24th July 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Asia Cocoa Grindings (Q2) Data on Asia’s Q2 cocoa grindings revealed a 12% y/y decline, the fourth consecutive y/y fall. This follows data released last week which showed continued weakness in North America and Europe. 24th July 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Brazil Sugar Production (1st-16th Jul.) Wet weather in the first half of July meant that the amount of sugar cane harvested in Brazil fell 37% compared to the second half of June. As a result, both sugar and ethanol production dropped... 23rd July 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Investor sentiment towards commodities tanks Broad-based weakness saw industrial commodity price indices slip between mid-June and mid-July. The S&P GSCI agriculture index bucked the trend, although it too has eased back recently. What’s more... 22nd July 2015 · 1 min read
