Commodities Weekly Trade to remain the focus of markets The prices of most commodities rose this week, buoyed by a surge in the oil price, firmer equity prices and optimism about progress in the US-China trade talks. We think that some sort of face-saving... 11th January 2019 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly A shaky start to the new year Commodity prices have been volatile this week, driven more by macroeconomic and financial market developments than by commodity-specific fundamentals. Mounting concerns about the outlook for global... 4th January 2019 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Oil sets the tone for 2019 The price of oil plunged again this week but, while we are negative on the outlook for 2019, we think that the latest falls are being driven more by bearish investor sentiment than fundamentals. After... 21st December 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Little festive cheer for commodities The prices of most commodities, including oil, traded in a narrow range this week, at least until Friday when weak economic data out of China prompted a synchronised fall in prices. We suspect that... 14th December 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly OPEC gives a boost to prices in the near term The 1.2m bpd output cut announced by OPEC and its allies today should absorb much of the oil market surplus in the short term. As such, it has sparked a rally in oil prices and in commodities more... 7th December 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly The calm before the storm For the most part, commodity prices moved in a narrow range this week, but this relative stability may come to an abrupt end soon. Presidents Trump and Xi are set to dine together on Saturday at the... 30th November 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly No respite for commodities After a week when the prices of Brent and WTI fell by around 10%, there could be further big moves in commodity prices next week depending on the outcome of the meeting between Presidents Trump and Xi... 23rd November 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Energy in the headlines The recent divergence between oil and natural gas prices gathered momentum this week and although we think prices overshot, we remain of the view that the outlook for natural gas prices in 2019 is... 16th November 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Bear market in oil to persist in 2019 The price of oil (Brent) has dropped by around a fifth from its October peak and we expect it to continue to fall to $60 per barrel by end-2019. Supporting this view is our forecast that the oil... 9th November 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly All eyes turn to the US The US is set to take centre stage next week as it re-imposes sanctions on Iran’s oil on Monday. While this may spark bargain hunting, after this week’s slump in prices, any relief rally should be... 2nd November 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Commodities caught up in market jitters Concerns about the outlook for demand, amid sharp declines in global equity prices, are weighing on the prices of most commodities. Even the oil market, which has been focussed on supply issues for... 26th October 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Politics and policy may take centre stage Commodity markets will have little in the way of relevant data to focus on next week. Instead, prices are likely to be driven more by developments on the political and policy fronts. The case of the... 19th October 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly China will be back in the spotlight The focus of commodity markets next week is likely to be the raft of data out of China, culminating in Q3 GDP and September industrial output and investment spending on Friday. The September data, in... 12th October 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Oil is losing touch with reality The latest leg-up in the oil price, to around $85 per barrel, was fuelled by persistent fears of a supply shortfall. However, we remain of the view that the market’s worst fears will not be realised... 5th October 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Supply prospects take centre stage Supply-side developments were the key driver of most commodity markets this week, but they are pushing prices in opposing directions. In the oil market, supply concerns sent Brent crude to a 46-month... 1st October 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Commodities join in “relief” rally The prices of most commodities rose this week as part of a more general rebound in financial markets. Although both the US and China announced another round of tariffs, there was some relief that the... 21st September 2018 · 1 min read