Metals Watch Pain before gain for aluminium prices The aluminium market appears to be undergoing a fundamental shift this year with falling stocks and lower price premiums. The incentive for investors to hold aluminium stocks is waning. In this Metals... 3rd April 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Chart Pack Commodities remain in thrall to the dollar The ebb and flow of sentiment towards the US currency continues to be a key driver of commodity markets and especially gold and silver, keeping prices sensitive to the latest US economic data and... 3rd April 2015 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly What does an iron ore price of $50 mean for Australia? While it is certainly not good news, a fall in the iron ore price to US$50 a tonne or below is neither here nor there when compared with the drop from $US130 to $US70 last year. What’s more, the full... 3rd April 2015 · 1 min read
Energy Data Response US Weekly Petroleum Status Report A fall in US output and higher demand from refineries helped to reduce the amount of oil flowing into storage last week. But stocks are still rising. 2nd April 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Ample US grain and soybean stocks to push prices lower USDA data on grain and soybean stocks continue to indicate a market brimming with supplies. We remain of the view that corn, wheat and soybean prices will fall further this year. 2nd April 2015 · 1 min read
Energy Update European gas prices heading back down We expect European natural gas prices to fall this year as greater supply and the impact of lower oil prices more than offset higher demand. 1st April 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi Arabia simply taking a long-term view of the oil market Saudi Arabia’s lack of a response to the plunge in oil prices has triggered a torrent of conspiracy theories, including plots to hurt Russia and Iran. These have been given extra prominence in light... 1st April 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Lumber price to rise despite higher interest rates Despite the likelihood of higher US interest rates this year, demand prospects and mortgage affordability should continue to support higher housing starts, lifting the price of lumber. 27th March 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Middle East tensions boost oil prices A variety of factors have lifted commodity prices this past week. Renewed Middle East fears following events in Yemen boosted oil and gold. Copper prices continued their gradual recovery, helped by... 27th March 2015 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Silver outshining gold Silver has out-performed gold this year during periods when the prices of both have been rising, as usual, but it has also held on to more of its gains when both have struggled. This supports our... 27th March 2015 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Zinc to continue to outperform Even with cautious demand estimates, the deficit in the zinc market will deepen this year. As such, we expect zinc prices to rise and to outperform many of the other metals. 27th March 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Chart Pack Currency sell-off puts paid to further policy loosening Currencies in Latin America have regained some ground over the past week, but have still typically fallen by between 10-20% against the dollar over the past six months. The risk that the slide in... 26th March 2015 · 1 min read
Energy Update Fallout from Yemen The recent developments in Yemen have caused oil prices to jump on fears of disruption to supplies. However we think that the impact on production should be minimal and even in the unlikely event of... 26th March 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Tighter market to push coffee prices higher Despite the weak Brazilian real putting downward pressure on the price of arabica coffee, with the market tightening we think that the price will move higher. 26th March 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update First thoughts on the escalating conflict in Yemen The unfolding crisis in Yemen and the commencement of air strikes by Saudi Arabia and its allies on the Houthi rebels has raised concerns of a broader regional conflict. We suspect that the worst of... 26th March 2015 · 1 min read
Energy Watch A year of two halves The widening of the Brent – WTI spread has captured headlines again recently. In this Energy Watch we explain why the price of WTI has been lagging Brent and examine the outlook for the price of the... 26th March 2015 · 1 min read
