Commodities Update Agricultural prices won’t necessarily follow oil down While the price of Brent has dropped by nearly 60% since January, agricultural prices have so far held up comparatively well. Although we wouldn’t rule out agricultural prices falling further, the... 24th March 2020 · 2 mins read
Energy Update WTI to trade at a premium to Brent by 2021 Earlier this week, the virus-related economic disruption and the prospect of a surge in OPEC+ supply pushed the Brent-WTI price spread near to zero. Although it has since rebounded, we think the... 20th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Saudi oil policy, MENA virus responses ramp up The news that Saudi Arabia will deepen fiscal austerity suggests that, despite oil prices falling to their lowest levels since the early 2000s, the authorities have no immediate plans to reverse... 19th March 2020 · 5 mins read
Energy Update What higher OPEC+ supply means for the oil market OPEC+’s decision to abandon output constraint has been a factor behind the ongoing slump in oil prices. In our view, higher OPEC+ supply will weigh heavily on US shale output, prices and the risk... 19th March 2020 · 3 mins read
India Chart Pack Virus and Yes Bank debacle dash hopes of recovery It has been a dreadful few weeks for India’s economy. This started with the release of GDP data showing that growth in Q4 slowed to its weakest pace since 2013. And hopes of a near-term recovery have... 19th March 2020 · 10 mins read
Energy Chart Pack Coronavirus to continue to weigh on prices Energy prices have crashed in recent weeks as the coronavirus has disrupted economic activity and reduced demand. Meanwhile, on the supply side, OPEC+ failed to agree to deepen its oil output cuts. We... 16th March 2020 · 5 mins read
Commodities Weekly Still some way from the bottom Commodity prices tumbled this week, echoing moves in other financial markets. Oil was among the worst performers as Saudi Arabia and Russia announced that they will ramp up output from April, after... 13th March 2020 · 7 mins read
India Economics Update Oil price collapse a positive amid market rout The plunge in oil prices over the past week means there’s a good chance that India records a rare current account surplus over the coming quarters. This should help to ensure that the rout in local... 13th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Boost from low oil prices to be limited by coronavirus The collapse in oil prices will reduce current high rates of inflation in Central Europe and provide some respite for those oil importers with more fragile external positions (Turkey, Romania and... 12th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Are we facing a re-run of the 2014-16 oil price crash? The recent oil price shock has invoked comparisons with 2014-16, when prices fell to similarly low levels and large EMs – notably Brazil and Russia – entered crises. But this time around, we think... 11th March 2020 · 3 mins read
OPEC Watch OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report (Mar.) OPEC production slumped in February owing to supply disruption in Libya. However, given that the current output agreement expires in March and with no replacement deal, we expect OPEC+ oil production... 11th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Malaysia: budget deficit to widen after oil price slump Malaysia’s new finance minister, Tengku Zafrul, faces the unenviable challenge of dealing with a rapidly deteriorating fiscal position at the same time as the economy is slowing sharply. While the... 10th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update How long can Saudi Arabia weather low oil prices? The fact that the fall in oil prices will cause Saudi Arabia’s government to run a large budget deficit has prompted suggestions that it might have to shift oil policy to prop up prices. But the... 10th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Energy Update Oil price slump - this time it is different Oil prices have crashed by about 40% since end-January owing to the coronavirus-related demand shock and the collapse of OPEC+ output restraint. Following previous oil price crashes (2008 and 2015-16)... 10th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Commodities Update Oil to continue to underperform other commodities Even before OPEC+ abruptly abandoned output cuts, oil had fared far worse than most other commodities. Some of this can be explained by oil’s greater use in the forms of economic activity most... 10th March 2020 · 3 mins read
China Economics Update Lower oil prices offer small comfort amid downturn As the world’s largest oil importer, China stands to gain from the recent fall in oil prices. But the boost to growth will be modest and won’t make up for the hit to Chinese exports from weaker global... 10th March 2020 · 3 mins read
