Commodities Update A closer look at China’s import data China’s import data continue to suggest that, in general, demand for agricultural commodities remains weak. The main exception is sugar, where imports surged on low world prices. 23rd June 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Industrial metals continue to struggle The escalating crisis surrounding Greece’s negotiations with its creditors and its potentially negative implications for the euro-zone economy weighed on investor sentiment this week. Industrial... 19th June 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Weather conditions take charge of crop prices Agricultural commodity prices have had mixed fortunes since mid-May, with roughly half seeing rises and half seeing falls. While concerns about supply constraints have helped support cocoa and robusta... 19th June 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Why commodity investors shouldn’t fear the Fed The US central bank is edging towards a first interest rate hike, most likely in September. Thereafter, we expect rates to rise faster than the markets (and Fed officials themselves) generally... 18th June 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Deterioration in Thai stocks to boost rice prices The disposal of Thailand’s remaining high-quality rice stocks should keep prices under pressure in the near-term. However, with the world market expected to tighten in 2015/16, prices should start to... 16th June 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Positive case for gold remains intact Most commodity prices have moved in narrow ranges in the past week. US natural gas prices continued their see-saw pattern, buffeted by weather and other seasonal factors. But other markets were... 12th June 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Weather risks to take centre stage for crop prices While global grain and soybean markets remain well-supplied, prices are likely to be determined by weather-related factors over the coming months. Nevertheless, we believe that the medium-term price... 11th June 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Malaysia Monthly Palm Oil Data (May) Data released today by Malaysia’s Palm Oil Board show that crude palm oil production continued to grow in May, albeit at a slower pace than the previous two months, while inventories hit their highest... 10th June 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Cocoa prices to ease as Ghana’s production rebounds The price of cocoa is likely to remain elevated in the near term due to continued supply concerns. But a rebound in Ghana’s 2015/16 harvest should put downward pressure on prices later this year. 9th June 2015 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Has food price inflation reached a trough? There are good reasons to think that food price inflation has reached a trough. That said, intense supermarket competition seems unlikely to lift soon, meaning that inflation in the sector could... 8th June 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Ample supply to cap oil prices Commodity prices have remained under pressure from continued dollar strength, although supply concerns in the past week have supported some agriculturals – notably wheat and coffee. US lumber prices... 5th June 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Investors become more bearish on agriculturals Over the past month investor sentiment towards agricultural commodities has continued to deteriorate. After turning negative in April, the total number of net-long non-commercial positions for eight... 5th June 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Chart Pack Strong dollar and ample supply weigh on prices R enewed strength in the US currency undermined most commodity prices again last month, with ample supply dragging down crude oil and many agricultural too. Lingering concerns over the risk of a “hard... 1st June 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Dollar strength weighs on commodities (again) Commodity prices mostly fell in the past week, dragged lower by renewed strength in the US currency. Leading the falls, natural gas prices reversed their weather-related gains from earlier in the... 29th May 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Anaemic Chinese import growth weighs on prices China’s trade data for April go some way to explaining the generally weak tone of agricultural commodities prices. For the most part, import volumes were lower in year-on-year terms, in some cases... 29th May 2015 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Butter meltdown highlights policy failures Japan’s butter shortage is the result of agricultural policy failures. It should strengthen the argument that agreement to scale back protectionist measures in the ongoing talks on the Trans-Pacific... 27th May 2015 · 1 min read
