“Wait-and-see” prevails in commodities markets

It was a mixed week for prices, with energy, agricultural and precious metals outperforming industrial metals. There was a relatively muted reaction to the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict perhaps because of the geopolitical uncertainty. What is certain is that the upside risk to prices has risen. If the conflict were to morph into a wider regional conflict, it could involve major disruption to oil and natural gas production and exports from the region.