Industrial Metals Update Support for iron ore prices to wane Temporary supply bottlenecks and falling stocks at Chinese ports have prompted a rally in iron ore prices since early-April. However, supply is expected to pick up strongly, at a time of only subdued... 16th June 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Deterioration in Thai stocks to boost rice prices The disposal of Thailand’s remaining high-quality rice stocks should keep prices under pressure in the near-term. However, with the world market expected to tighten in 2015/16, prices should start to... 16th June 2015 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Investors turn even more negative on PMs Over the past month, precious metal (PM) prices have dropped sharply. Gold has fared better than its peers, as lingering risks in Europe have cushioned the price from further losses. Both the... 16th June 2015 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update The impact of China’s “new normal” on metals demand The sources of industrial metals demand will alter as China shifts away from investment-led growth, but demand should not collapse. Indeed, demand for metals used in consumer goods could benefit. 12th June 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Weather risks to take centre stage for crop prices While global grain and soybean markets remain well-supplied, prices are likely to be determined by weather-related factors over the coming months. Nevertheless, we believe that the medium-term price... 11th June 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Malaysia Monthly Palm Oil Data (May) Data released today by Malaysia’s Palm Oil Board show that crude palm oil production continued to grow in May, albeit at a slower pace than the previous two months, while inventories hit their highest... 10th June 2015 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Lower stocks to help pave way for higher prices Exchange stocks of base metals have generally been falling over the last month. Although some metal is merely being moved into off-market locations, low stocks could be an additional factor boosting... 10th June 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Cocoa prices to ease as Ghana’s production rebounds The price of cocoa is likely to remain elevated in the near term due to continued supply concerns. But a rebound in Ghana’s 2015/16 harvest should put downward pressure on prices later this year. 9th June 2015 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Global steel demand to struggle again this year Global growth in apparent steel usage was just 0.6% in 2014 and was concentrated in the advanced economies. Consumption in China and a number of other key emerging markets fell. As we expect China’s... 8th June 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update China’s import volumes slip in May China’s commodity import volumes slipped in May but we think this was a temporary dip related to the surge in prices early in the month. We continue to expect industrial metal import demand to rebound... 8th June 2015 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Gold price to benefit from further central bank buying We expect official purchases to be one of several factors that boost gold prices in the next year or two, despite the prospect of tighter US monetary policy and renewed strength in the dollar against... 8th June 2015 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Can gold buck the trends of rising yields and dollar strength? In the short term it is often hard for the price of gold to decouple from movements in US bond and currency markets – as the initially negative reaction to today’s strong US payrolls report has once... 5th June 2015 · 1 min read
Energy Update OPEC ensures oil supplies to remain ample It was no great surprise that OPEC left its output target unchanged today. Oil prices even ticked up a little on the news as late speculation of an increase in the target proved unfounded. Nonetheless... 5th June 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Investors become more bearish on agriculturals Over the past month investor sentiment towards agricultural commodities has continued to deteriorate. After turning negative in April, the total number of net-long non-commercial positions for eight... 5th June 2015 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Strong US auto sales to boost PGMs demand We believe the prices of platinum group metals (PGMs) will benefit from increased autocatalyst demand. However, palladium is likely to outperform platinum due to the limited penetration of diesel cars... 4th June 2015 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Why we are positive on copper prices Copper demand is set to pick up strongly later in the year as US economic activity rebounds and policy loosening in China lifts demand there. Meanwhile, subdued mine supply growth will curb refined... 4th June 2015 · 1 min read