The prices of most precious and industrial metals fell back this week in the wake of a small appreciation of the US dollar. The FOMC minutes, released on Wednesday, all but ensured another US rate hike in March and put downward pressure on the price of gold. Oil prices bucked the otherwise negative trend in industrials and rose on the back of a surprise drop in US stocks. Agricultural commodities, meanwhile, continued to benefit from concerns about drought in key growing regions in the US and Latin America.
The focus next week is likely to be on China, with the publication of the official (Wednesday) and unofficial (Thursday) manufacturing PMI surveys for February, which will provide an early indication of the strength of activity at the start of the year. We expect both surveys to have been stable in February, which could offer some support to commodity prices.
Become a client to read more
This is premium content that requires an active Capital Economics subscription to view.
Already have an account?
You may already have access to this premium content as part of a paid subscription.
Sign in to read the content in full or get details of how you can access it
Register for free
Sign up for a free account to gain:
- Unlock additional content
- Register for Capital Economics events
- Receive email updates and economist-curated newsletters
- Request a free trial of our services