A mixed December closes a bleak year for commodities

Broad commodity indices fell in December on the back of plummeting oil prices. But outside of energy, commodities withstood the first Fed rate hike in ten years better than many had anticipated. Precious metals in particular were hardly affected. What’s more, after falling for most of the year, nearly all industrial metals prices picked up last month. Looking ahead, despite today’s turmoil, we expect recovering Chinese demand to help support prices in 2016.