Commodities Update High stocks will overshadow lower cotton production Expectations of lower cotton production for this coming year have underpinned a rise in prices. However, with a glut of stocks, we still think the price will end the year lower. 24th April 2015 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update US steel prices should pick up Having fallen sharply since late-2014, we expect US steel prices to stabilise and pick up over the course of this year owing to resilient domestic demand. That said, our forecast also assumes that the... 24th April 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Asia Cocoa Grindings (Q1 2015) Data on Asia’s Q1 cocoa grindings showed a 9.3% y/y decline, the third consecutive y/y fall. This follows declines announced last week in Europe and North America. 24th April 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update China & Euro-zone Flash PMIs (Apr.) The continued deterioration in China’s manufacturing sector signalled by early business surveys for April is disappointing, but the prices of key industrial metals have already factored in a lot of... 23rd April 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Weather conditions start to take centre stage With eyes now starting to focus on the new crops in the Northern Hemisphere, changes in weather conditions have underpinned fluctuations in many agricultural commodity prices in recent weeks. In... 23rd April 2015 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Light at the end of the tunnel for platinum prices The latest data show a surge in China’s platinum imports in March, suggesting that historically low prices are finally stimulating buying interest. We think higher Chinese import volumes can be... 23rd April 2015 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Why isn’t gold doing better despite “Grexit” risks? The price of gold has dipped below $1,200 per ounce again today, prompting some to ask whether a further escalation of the crisis in Greece would provide much support to the precious metal after all... 20th April 2015 · 1 min read
Energy Update Oil prices still face many headwinds The rebound in the last few weeks has lifted oil prices above our current end-2015 projections for Brent and WTI, but we are in no rush to change them. Some major headwinds both on the supply and... 20th April 2015 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Stocks only tell half the story Stock movements and prices should have an inverse relationship, but this has not beenthe case for many of the base metals over the last month. There are, of course, otherdrivers of the price... 17th April 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Outlook for cocoa prices remains bitter Further falls in European and North American cocoa grindings suggest consumers’ love of chocolate is not as sweet as it once was. Coupled with ample supply, we expect the price of cocoa to fall this... 17th April 2015 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Dollar strength alone is a poor reason to dismiss gold A common response to our positive view on gold is that the precious metal is bound to struggle in an environment of dollar strength, especially if this strength is due to increases in US interest... 15th April 2015 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Can the rally in lead prices be sustained? The boost to lead prices from the recent squeeze on stock availability may prove temporary. That said, it has exposed the underlying tightness in the market which should be a key factor supporting... 15th April 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Four and a half reasons not to worry about China’s slowdown The relative weakness of China’s Q1 GDP and March activity data has reinforced concerns about the impact of softer demand on global commodity markets. But in contrast to the consensus, we remain... 15th April 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Weaker dollar provides a breather Commodity prices have generally risen since the middle of March, supported by a slightly weaker dollar. However, concerns about Chinese demand have weighed on the prices of some commodities... 14th April 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update China’s commodity import volumes bounce back in March China’s commodity import volumes rose in March, admittedly from a low base in February. However, lower prices appear to be encouraging purchases and we expect volumes to remain higher in Q2. 13th April 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update More bad news for grain & soybean prices The USDA’s latest set of estimates suggest that the global glut of grain and soybeans will be evenlarger. With ample supplies and high stocks, we continue to expect the prices of corn, wheat... 10th April 2015 · 1 min read
