Commodities Weekly

Cocoa prices could be close to a melting point

The price of cocoa was the star performer this week in commodity markets, rising by 16% on the week. The price has risen by 40% since the start of this year, on the back of consistently poor harvests...

9th February 2024 · 5 mins read

Commodities Weekly

US natural gas prices to stay low in 2024

We have revised down our forecast for US natural gas prices this year, as the outlook for domestic supply has improved. Note: Join our special online briefing on Middle East conflict, shipping...

2nd February 2024 · 4 mins read

Commodities Weekly

China metals demand; EU weighing Russia metals ban

It was generally a positive week for commodity prices and particularly for industrial metals prices. All major industrial metals finished the week higher, seemingly due to some improvement in risk...

26th January 2024 · 4 mins read

Commodities Weekly

LNG frozen out of Red Sea, but gas prices to fall further

Natural gas prices fell sharply this week, despite Qatar's decision to avoid sending LNG tankers through the Red Sea. We think the relative calm in the natural gas market reflects the fact that gas...

19th January 2024 · 4 mins read

Commodities Weekly

Middle East tensions to keep a floor under oil prices

The Middle East continued to be the focus of commodity markets, although most prices ended the week either flat or lower. That said, the escalation of Houthi attacks on shipping and subsequent...

12th January 2024 · 4 mins read

Commodities Weekly

Industrial metals price weakness rolls over into 2024

This week was a mixed bag for commodities. As tensions in the Middle East continued to rise, oil prices edged up despite an increase in US petroleum product stocks pointing to sluggish demand...

5th January 2024 · 4 mins read

Commodities Weekly

Commodities wrapped; shipping chaos; OPEC frictions

While the robusta price had the largest gain this week (~11%) due to ongoing drought and dry conditions in Vietnam and Brazil, the rebound in oil prices captured most of the attention, as this was...

22nd December 2023 · 5 mins read

Commodities Weekly

Fed-induced rally; Panama canal disruptions

This week was a tale of two halves. In the first, prices generally came under pressure, including oil which continued its post-OPEC+ meeting plunge as concerns of oversupply persist. In the second...

15th December 2023 · 5 mins read

Commodities Weekly

COP28 declaration unlikely to drive prices next week

In the absence of major news, the majority of commodity prices drifted lower this week. Looking ahead to next week, the end of COP28 is unlikely to drive prices as we suspect that any announcements...

8th December 2023 · 5 mins read

Commodities Weekly

OPEC+’s last stand

The voluntary production cuts announced by OPEC+ this week will support oil prices in the first quarter of next year but there is clearly dissent among the ranks. We think OPEC+’s next move will be to...

1st December 2023 · 4 mins read

Commodities Weekly

OPEC+ won’t let prices slide

Moves in commodity prices have been fairly muted on the week, but this masks a dramatic mid-week plunge and recovery in oil prices. The big news was that OPEC+ announced a four-day delay to its policy...

24th November 2023 · 5 mins read

Commodities Weekly

Another sour week for oil, precious metals to shine

Gold and silver prices soared this week on renewed optimism that the Fed had hiked to the peak of its monetary policy mountain. We expect prices to rise further when interest rates begin to be cut...

17th November 2023 · 5 mins read

Commodities Weekly

US steel price rise not structurally sound

Oil prices continued to fall this week, perhaps reflecting less concern that the Israel-Hamas conflict will expand to other countries in the region and that Middle East oil supply will be negatively...

3rd November 2023 · 5 mins read

Commodities Weekly

War and weather to drive prices in short term

The conflict between Israel and Hamas continued to drive commodity prices this week. Oil prices fell back while gold prices defied the stronger dollar and held steady. Events in the Middle East will...

27th October 2023 · 6 mins read

Commodities Weekly

How high can oil prices go?

In view of the wider interest, we are also sending this Commodities Weekly Wrap to clients of the Energy Service. It was generally a strong week for commodity prices. Geopolitical tensions have...

20th October 2023 · 5 mins read