Commodities Update China’s commodity imports jump China’s commodity import volumes rebounded strongly in November, after the October weakness. The data may have been boosted by holiday-related distortions but it also appears that policies to curtail... 8th December 2017 · 1 min read
Energy Update Are forecasts for US oil output too optimistic? The recent rise in prices makes a large jump in US oil production next year relatively certain. However, rising costs, fewer efficiency gains and maturing fields will start to weigh on growth towards... 7th December 2017 · 1 min read
Energy Data Response US Weekly Petroleum Status Report A large drop in crude stocks was eclipsed by an even bigger jump in gasoline inventories. Weak demand for fuel products and a rebound in imports would weigh on oil prices over the next few months. 6th December 2017 · 1 min read
Metals Chart Pack Metals starting to look vulnerable The prices of most metals fell in November, reflecting concerns about somewhat softer economic data out of China. The outlier was the ferrous sector, where prices surged on the prospect of Chinese... 5th December 2017 · 1 min read
Metals Watch Copper supply not a problem, for now There has been much chatter about an imminent tightening in the copper market, partly as a result of a shortfall in supply but also because of strong demand growth associated with the green economy... 5th December 2017 · 1 min read
Energy Chart Pack OPEC output cuts extension supports oil prices The big news last month was the announcement by OPEC and its allies that they would extend their output cuts until the end of 2018 rather than finishing them in March as had been planned. However, in... 4th December 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly OPEC delivers on expectations Commodity prices fell this week, partly owing to weaker activity data from China, which weighed on industrial metals prices. In addition, a stronger dollar put some downward pressure on precious... 1st December 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Chart Pack Signs of China slowing weigh on industrials Commodity prices edged slightly higher in November on the back of a depreciation in the US dollar. Looking at the sector breakdown, most sub-sectors of the S&P GSCI moved higher. Industrial metals... 1st December 2017 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Will India’s steel industry continue to boom? India has experienced a period of uninterrupted growth in steel production for more than a decade, unmatched by any other major producer. But the country faces challenges in creating a competitive... 1st December 2017 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Oil output cuts explain only part of Russia’s slowdown Russia’s participation in the OPEC deal to cut oil output, which was rolled over last night, has so far had only a modest impact on the economy and can account for just 10% of the slowdown in annual... 1st December 2017 · 1 min read
OPEC Watch OPEC extends output cuts by another nine months As expected, OPEC announced yesterday that it, together with Russia and some other non-OPEC producers, would be extending the output cuts by nine months until the end of 2018, with the possibility of... 1st December 2017 · 1 min read
Energy Data Response US Weekly Petroleum Status Report A large fall in crude stocks will have cheered OPEC before its meeting tomorrow. However, the reduction in inventories was largely due to temporary disruption to imports. What’s more, rising oil... 29th November 2017 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Sentiment towards metals diverges Sentiment towards metals has diverged since the start of 2017. While investors have remained firmly bullish on precious metals, they have turned more bearish on industrial metals even as prices have... 28th November 2017 · 1 min read
Energy Watch OPEC likely to extend output cuts The oil market is largely expecting OPEC to extend its production deal until the end of 2018 at its meeting at the end of November. This Energy Watch will look at some of the options available to the... 27th November 2017 · 1 min read
Metals Data Response China and India gold imports (Oct.) The latest trade data for India and China show that gold imports remained weak in October. We had always thought that demand in India would soften in the second half of the year as a result of the new... 27th November 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Industrials on the march Commodity prices drifted a bit towards the end of the week as the US markets were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. Otherwise, the prices of most of the industrial and energy commodities rose... 24th November 2017 · 1 min read
