Commodities Update Soft demand outside China a key headwind to prices The March PMIs released for China suggest that the reopening rebound is slowing. While there seems further scope for oil demand to continue to recover, the outlook for metals demand appears much... 3rd April 2023 · 2 mins read
Commodities Outlook The energy crisis is over, but prices to stay elevated We expect most commodity prices to drift lower in the near term as advanced economies enter mild recessions and financial market risk aversion persists. A stronger US dollar will also weigh on prices... 31st March 2023 · 41 mins read
Commodities Weekly Advanced economies to dictate prices With the latest shudders in financial markets seemingly contained, most commodity prices ground steadily upward over the week. Oil prices did receive a boost from supply disruptions in Iraqi Kurdistan... 31st March 2023 · 6 mins read
Industrial Metals Update US steel prices on a tear, but not for long The ongoing rally in the US steel price appears supply-driven and will, most likely, be short-lived. We expect the rally to fizzle out and go into reverse as the US economy slides into recession. 30th March 2023 · 2 mins read
Commodities Weekly Not out of the woods yet Just as it seemed as though stability had been restored in financial markets, a renewed bout of selling of bank stocks took place in Europe this morning. And there are a number of smaller US banks... 24th March 2023 · 6 mins read
Metals Data Response Global Steel Production (Feb.) There were a few positive signs in February’s steel production figures; output in China grew healthily and production in advanced economies (DMs) appears to have troughed. However, any rebound in DM... 23rd March 2023 · 2 mins read
Metals Data Response Global Aluminium Production (Feb.) Stripping away calendar effects, global aluminium production increased slightly last month. We expect output to continue to grow steadily this year, mostly in response to rising demand in China. 20th March 2023 · 3 mins read
Commodities Weekly Prices battered, financial conditions to be in focus Commodity markets were not spared the effects of widespread turmoil in the global banking system. Most prices ended the week lower as investors fled risky assets. The gold and silver prices bucked... 17th March 2023 · 6 mins read
Commodities Update First thoughts on banking stress and commodity prices Commodity prices have tumbled as concern about a banking crisis has grown. The downside risks to our forecasts, which we recently attributed to higher interest rates, now include banking sector stress... 16th March 2023 · 2 mins read
Commodities Weekly US and China data to steer prices next week Even though US non-farm payrolls increased by 311,000 in February, the report contained signals that were consistent with slowing inflation, prompting a fall in US interest rate expectations today... 10th March 2023 · 6 mins read
Metals Demand Monitor Metals Demand Monitor (Dec.) Demand growth for industrial metals slowed to a halt at the end of last year. Even with some more recent improvements in advanced economy activity growth, metals demand probably kicked off the year on... 9th March 2023 · 2 mins read
Commodities Update Unpacking China’s NPC for commodities The National People’s Congress reports struck a cautious note on the outlook for economic activity in China this year. Fiscal stimulus will be limited and efforts to prevent “disorderly” expansion in... 8th March 2023 · 4 mins read
Commodities Update Futures Market Monitor (Mar. 2023) Most commodity prices fell and futures curves shifted lower this past month as higher interest rate expectations in advanced economies clouded the demand outlook. This is consistent with the downside... 7th March 2023 · 4 mins read
Commodities Weekly Commodity markets look to the US and China It was another fairly quiet week in commodity markets, with prices caught between diverging narratives. Rather perversely, robust economic data in advanced economies weighed on commodity prices. This... 3rd March 2023 · 6 mins read
Commodities Chart Pack Mounting downside risks to our price forecasts We think prices will drop a little further in the coming months as economic slowdowns in advanced economies weigh on commodities demand, even as China’s economic recovery takes hold. However, the... 2nd March 2023 · 13 mins read
Metals Data Response Global Steel Production (Jan.) Global steel output remained depressed in January and is unlikely to pick up markedly in the coming months. However, a rebound in China’s demand and lower power costs in Europe should prompt some... 22nd February 2023 · 2 mins read