Commodities Update Dollar strength weighs on agriculturals Strong US employment data and statements from members of the Federal Reserve in recent weeks have combined to bring forward investors’ expectations for the first US rate hike to December. The... 19th November 2015 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update Time for Dr. Copper to be struck off? The continued slide in the price of copper has added to concerns about global growth. However, the industrial metal’s track record at diagnosing the health of the world economy has actually been shaky... 18th November 2015 · 1 min read
Energy Data Response US Weekly Petroleum Status Report US stocks of crude oil ticked up only slightly last week, whilst stocks of gasoline edged up again as refineries continued to increase production. 18th November 2015 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Sentiment towards PMs sours again The prices of precious metals (PMs) have fallen sharply since mid-October. While expectations of a December hike by the Fed have been the biggest catalyst for moves in gold and silver prices, fears of... 18th November 2015 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Is the worst now over for the major commodity currencies? The dollars of Australia, New Zealand and Canada have come under fire again, as the prices of the commodities that they export have dropped back. We think these prices are likely to recover a little... 17th November 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Strong dollar puts pressure on commodities Commodity prices have suffered since the middle of October, with the Bloomberg Commodities Index underperforming equities by a sizeable margin. The strong appreciation of the US dollar weighed heavily... 17th November 2015 · 1 min read
Energy Update Risks to Middle East oil supplies remain high Ample global supply of oil means that prices are no longer incorporating much of a risk premium. However, the potential for disruption is still high and lack of spare capacity mean that prices could... 17th November 2015 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Lower copper price premium may have an upside Given prevailing market conditions, reports that Codelco has cut copper price premiums for 2016 sharply was hardly that surprising. We therefore think the negative market reaction has been overdone... 17th November 2015 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Solar to provide additional support to silver prices Over the next few years, the price of silver should benefit further from governments’ increased focus on reducing global carbon dioxide emissions through investing in renewable energy. Solar energy is... 17th November 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Emerging Market Consumer Snapshot (Q4 2015) Lower commodity prices have continued to weigh on consumption in commodity-exporting EMs. Indeed, there are signs that even in those economies where spending had previously held up reasonably well... 17th November 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update First global deficit in six years to lift sugar prices in 2016 After surging in early October due to a rise in Brazilian fuel prices, the world price for sugar has remained strong but volatile. Despite poor harvests in Brazil and the EU, further price rises this... 16th November 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Oil prices should recover soon as market rebalances Last week’s slide in the price of crude oil has prompted us to lower our end-2015 forecasts, but we continue to expect a gradual recovery over the coming year. In particular, the latest news on global... 16th November 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Investor sentiment remains deeply negative Prices of industrial commodities have taken a battering this week as investor sentiment continues to sour. While Chinese economic data painted a subdued picture of activity in October, in our view... 13th November 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Coffee prices likely to perk up Weak producer currencies have supported coffee exports and weighed on US dollar prices. But with depleted inventories, we think a tighter market will put upward pressure on prices next year. 13th November 2015 · 1 min read
Energy Update Demand growth to help soak up excess oil supplies Growth in demand for oil should remain strong over the next few years, despite concerns about slower growth in emerging economies. However, in the long term demand will be constrained by improvements... 13th November 2015 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Making sense of the China data A deluge of Chinese data this week has coincided with a renewed slump in most metals prices. However, while the headlines have focused on the negatives, our interpretation of the data is that the... 13th November 2015 · 1 min read