Commodities Update Is Libyan oil output set to rebound? We are cautiously optimistic about the reopening of some Libyan oil fields and ports. Although previous attempts at restarting production have ended in failure, the deal this time around seems like a... 9th July 2014 · 1 min read
Commodities Chart Pack Iraq crisis boosts oil prices Industrial commodity prices were supported by stronger Chinese data in June, whilst further unrest in the Middle East lifted oil prices and boosted safe-haven demand for gold. However, the supply... 1st July 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update The winners and losers from another oil price shock The escalation of violence in Iraq over the past week or so has led to concerns that unrest in the Middle East might trigger another spike in oil prices. As it happens, the impact on world oil markets... 25th June 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Are higher oil prices a threat to Asia? A sharp rise in oil prices as a result of the crisis in Iraq would have negative effects on Emerging Asia. While the inflationary impact is likely to be manageable, most Asian economies are net... 24th June 2014 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update Three oil price scenarios from the Iraq crisis The situation in Iraq could play out in many ways. In a “good” scenario, the crisis would ease soon and there could even be some positive fallout for the region. (Our current forecast that Brent will... 20th June 2014 · 1 min read
Commodities Update US oil exports just one piece of the puzzle Despite the recent surge in US oil exports, the volumes of crude leaving the US remain minute. It is looking increasingly likely that some export restrictions will be relaxed, but this could take... 18th June 2014 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update What's the tipping point for oil prices? We would be wary of assertions that there is a single “magic number” for the oil price beyond which the world economy enters a danger zone. Nonetheless, global growth has been sluggish ever since... 17th June 2014 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Iraq now even less likely to reach oil production goals The capture of a number of Iraqi cities by insurgents over the last few days has served to highlight the difficulty Iraq will have in meeting its lofty aims for oil output. However, the impact on... 12th June 2014 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Saudi Arabia to shoulder more of OPEC's burden The twice-yearly OPEC meeting in Vienna this week is likely to confirm the official production target of 30m barrels per day. But this is unlikely to prevent the oil price from falling over the next... 10th June 2014 · 1 min read
Commodities Update All oils are not created equal The surge in US oil stocks on the Gulf coast means that the pipeline constraints which had been holding back the price of WTI now look largely to have been resolved. However, excess supplies of light... 16th May 2014 · 1 min read
Global Markets Outlook Steady as she goes We forecast a fairly small rise in the 10-year US government bond yield by end-2015 despite a shift in Fed policy. We also think the BoE will raise rates later and more slowly than the US central bank... 1st May 2014 · 1 min read
Commodities Chart Pack Supply fears underpin commodity prices Many commodity prices rose in April, boosted by supply concerns around industrial metals, agricultural commodities and crude oil. In particular, the price of coffee surged again after early harvests... 1st May 2014 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Rising retail gasoline prices no conundrum The recent jump in gasoline prices isn’t a conundrum. Several explanatory factors are at play, including seasonal effects. But for the most part, rising gasoline prices reflect higher refinery crude... 28th April 2014 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Angola: oil sector boom masks medium-term weakness A combination of rising oil production and investment into its offshore hydrocarbons sector is likely to underpin strong economic growth in Angola over the next couple of years. But history suggests... 24th April 2014 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Unplanned supply outages keeping oil prices high Large unplanned supply outages have helped keep oil prices high over the last three years, despite a surge in production from the US. We expect the factors holding back supply to ease over the next... 7th April 2014 · 1 min read
Commodities Chart Pack China fears weigh on industrial metal prices There was considerable variation in individual commodity price movements in March. Weak Chinese economic data weighed on both industrial metals and energy prices, but the prices of some agricultural... 1st April 2014 · 1 min read
