Commodities Update Sluggish start to 2016 for Chinese agricultural import demand The detailed Chinese import data for January, released earlier today, indicate that import demand for agricultural commodities started the new year as it ended the last: weak. 22nd February 2016 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Bumper start to the year for China’s PGM imports China’s imports of palladium and platinum surged in January. The seasonal disruption associated with the Lunar New Year holiday might have distorted the figures to some extent. Nonetheless, strong car... 22nd February 2016 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Can gold rally even if Treasury yields rebound? Over short horizons the gold price is often driven by the same factors that determine US Treasury yields. This means that the price of the precious metal now looks increasingly vulnerable to a... 19th February 2016 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Platinum price to rally as industry braces for strikes The platinum price is set to recover in 2016 as production in South Africa contracts, necessitating a draw-down in the abundant above-ground stocks. We believe that there is a renewed risk of strike... 19th February 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Update No relief for ags as investors become more bearish Amid all the recent market turmoil, agricultural commodities haven’t performed too badly, with the S&P GSCI Agriculture index having only fallen by just over 1% since the start of the year. While the... 18th February 2016 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Cautiously positive on lead demand Lead usage has contracted for two consecutive years. However, some of the downturn can be attributed to destocking, as well as a decline in China’s e-bike production. As these trends run their course... 18th February 2016 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Is REE demand from Europe waning? Although the latest data show that rare earth metal import growth has been slowing in the European Union (EU), this is largely due to base effects. Meanwhile, a number of indicators suggest EU rare... 17th February 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Are we close to the bottom for agricultural commodity prices? Several years of bumper harvests have left key agricultural commodities in abundant supply, helping to drag prices down to levels not seen since 2010. While many prices are probably close to the floor... 17th February 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Weaker dollar supports commodity prices It has been a quiet few weeks for news from China, as disruption associated with the Lunar New Year holiday has made it difficult to determine exactly how the economy has fared so far this year... 16th February 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Lower soy oil premium to undermine China’s palm oil demand Despite a slump in Malaysian exports to China, overall Chinese palm oil demand has remained strong. However, the increased competitiveness of soy oil is likely to weigh on Chinese demand for imported... 16th February 2016 · 1 min read
Energy Update How big a deal is the agreement to freeze oil output? The oil markets have given a lukewarm response to the tentative deal between Saudi Arabia and Russia to hold their output at its January levels. We are wary too, as it was unlikely that either country... 16th February 2016 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Precious metals regain their lustre After a weak start to the year, precious metals prices surged last month, bolstered by a weaker US dollar. Gold and silver continued to benefit from safe-haven demand as global equity prices tumbled... 16th February 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Slow start to the year for China’s commodity imports China’s overall commodity import volumes increased in January, but dipped for some key commodities. However, the seasonal disruption associated with the Lunar New Year holiday was probably behind some... 15th February 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Commodities weather global market turmoil relatively well For most of the last few months the headlines have been dominated by the rout in commodity prices. More recently, the focus has understandably shifted to the bear markets in equities. Nonetheless, the... 12th February 2016 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Silver to outperform gold in 2016 While subdued industrial demand has been one of the main reasons behind the weakness in silver prices over the last few years, 2016 could be the turning point. Indeed, a recovery in the global... 12th February 2016 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update 2015 World Gold Council Demand Trends In its latest World Demand Trends report, published today, the World Gold Council described a strong end to last year for gold demand, as a disappointing H1 gave way to robust growth in the second... 11th February 2016 · 1 min read
