Commodities Weekly Trade concerns wreak havoc Almost all commodity prices fell this week as the deadline for the imposition of US tariffs on China loomed large. The tariffs came into effect on Friday, and China retaliated in kind. Also on Friday... 6th July 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Oil bucks the trend Most commodity prices fell this week on fears of a slowdown in the Chinese economy and rising trade tensions between the US and China. The exception was oil, which jumped on the announcement of a new... 29th June 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly OPEC: Will they, won’t they? Most commodity prices fell sharply this week on concerns that the rise in trade tensions between the US and China could spiral into a full-blown trade war. There were particularly sharp drops in the... 22nd June 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Fears of protectionism weigh on prices The Fed’s decision to hike its target rate by 25bp and the announcement that the US was going to press ahead with a 25% tariff on imports of Chinese goods prompted a rally in the dollar, which in turn... 15th June 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly All eyes on Trump The EU, Canada and Mexico all announced retaliatory tarrifs on certain imports from the US this week. Although we doubt that this is the start of a full-blown trade war, the risk of one is greater now... 8th June 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Trade back in focus It has been a busy week on the news front. The early part of the week was dominated by the political crisis in Italy, which weighed on the euro. Later in the week, President Trump announced that he... 1st June 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Oil takes a tumble Agricultural commodities were some of the star performers this week as a truckers’ strike in Brazil raised concerns about supply. In contrast, metals prices struggled, as the trade talks between China... 25th May 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Oil rallies on Iran jitters Oil prices continued to benefit from the uncertainty surrounding President Trump’s decision to pull the US out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, this week. However, heightened geopolitical risks... 18th May 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Oil prices jump on US sanctions Donald Trump’s announcement that he will pull the US out of the nuclear agreement with Tehran and re-impose sanctions on Iran’s crude exports caused oil prices to jump this week. Meanwhile, China’s... 11th May 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Markets looking for direction There was little in the way of market-moving data or news this week. China’s PMI data for April were broadly unchanged on the month, painting a picture of relative stability. Meanwhile, although the... 4th May 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Quiet after the storm The earlier surge in oil and industrial metals prices came to an abrupt halt this week as oil stabilised and there were sharp falls in the prices of some metals. In particular, the US Treasury’s... 27th April 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Rising tensions boost prices Geopolitical concerns continued to be the main driver of commodities prices this week. In particular, fears that US sanctions could be broadened to include Russian producer, Nornickel, buoyed the... 20th April 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Sanctions on Russia send aluminium soaring Geopolitical concerns intensified this week and led to sharp increases in those commodities at risk of disruptions to supply. In particular, the price of aluminium surged following the announcement of... 13th April 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Protectionist rhetoric weighs on prices Trade tensions escalated this week, as the US and China engaged in tit-for-tat announcements on proposed tariffs. The prices of commodities which would be affected by the tariffs generally fell... 6th April 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly A quiet week for commodities Commodity markets took something of a breather this week after last week’s sharp moves. Fears of a trade war between the US and China have receded a little, which helped to stabilise prices. The... 29th March 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Trump’s tariffs unsettle investors The US was the focus of markets this week. The Fed hiked its target rate by 25bp on Wednesday to 1.50%-1.75% but this had been widely anticipated and there was little reaction in commodity markets. In... 23rd March 2018 · 1 min read
