Energy Update Europe well positioned to weather Ukraine gas disruptions We do not expect the latest dispute between Russia and Ukraine over natural gas to disrupt the supply to Western Europe. But even if it did, the EU is in a good position to cope as stocks are... 3rd July 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Is there an end in sight to the export slowdown? Emerging Asia’s exports have continued to disappoint over recent months. The downturn can be explained partly by falling commodity prices and currency effects. However, weak global demand has also... 3rd July 2015 · 1 min read
Metals Chart Pack Concerns about global growth weigh on prices The S&P GSCI industrial metals index fell for the second consecutive month in June. Persistently subdued Chinese economic data and the risk of a messy Greek default and exit from the euro-zone... 3rd July 2015 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update What does China’s rebalancing mean for gold? Gold faces important challenges as China rebalances its economy. Higher consumer spending should be positive for jewellery demand. A corresponding reduction in savings might reduce demand for gold as... 2nd July 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi external position deteriorating even before drop in oil prices The plunge in oil prices over the past year has forced Saudi Arabia to dip into its foreign exchange reserves, but one point that is often overlooked is that the Kingdom’s external position had been... 2nd July 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Chart Pack Grains aside, commodities remain in the doldrums The prices of US grains and soybeans jumped in June on weather-related supplyfears, but most other commodities are still becalmed – at best. Industrial metals continued to struggle, despite additional... 1st July 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Soybean prices now more likely to fall than rise Wet conditions and lower-than-expected stocks in the US have pushed the price of soybeans to its highest level this year. But with plentiful global supplies, we don’t think the recent rally will last... 1st July 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Chart Pack Grains aside, commodities remain in the doldrums The prices of US grains and soybeans jumped in June on weather-related supply fears, but most other commodities are still becalmed – at best. Industrial metals continued to struggle, despite... 1st July 2015 · 1 min read
Energy Data Response US Weekly Petroleum Status Report US stocks of oil unexpectedly rose last week after eight consecutive weeks of falls. However, stocks of gasoline resumed their downward trend. 1st July 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Focus After the commodities boom – what next for Latin America? The big falls in global commodity prices are probably behind us but, in the absence of a renewedboom, the growth outlook for much of Latin America will remain depressed. 1st July 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update For how long will low oil prices boost spending growth? The declines in oil prices since last summer might add as much as 1 percentage point to euro-zone consumer spending growth this year. However, unless oil prices fall further, which we do not expect... 1st July 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Competition from soy will push palm oil prices lower The price of palm oil has struggled to find asense of direction this year, falling below MYR2,100 per tonne in April, before recovering to MYR2,300 by early June. In this Agricultural Commodities... 30th June 2015 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update The only way is up for nickel prices The price of nickel has fallen by nearly 10% from last Friday, despite early signs of a pick-up in globalnickel demand. Given that we expect supply to become more constrained in the second half of... 30th June 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Data Response Chile Retail Sales, Ind. Prod. & Copper Prod. (May) Activity data from Chile released today were a mixed bag – while retail spendingremained buoyant, industrial output fell sharply. All told, the recent run of softerdata means that our GDP Tracker is... 30th June 2015 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update China still controls its REE exports, despite “looser” regime Despite “loosening” its rare earths (REE) export regime, China will continue to control global supply. As such, our view remains that REE prices are unlikely to fall much further. 30th June 2015 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update South Africa dodges power price hike, but crisis will linger South Africa’s energy regulator has rejected a proposed hike to electricity prices, sparing South Africa’s overstretched consumers the pain of higher prices. But the decision will only exacerbate the... 29th June 2015 · 1 min read
