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Absent major fiscal stimulus in China, global steel demand growth will be weak in the next few months. Accordingly, we forecast price declines in major steel markets towards year-end. Only when economic growth recovers and interest rates fall do we see …
29th August 2023
It has generally been a positive week for commodity prices. Most metals and agricultural prices rose on the week, in somewhat of a turnaround from recent trends. By contrast, energy commodities fell for the second consecutive week, as concerns about the …
25th August 2023
The government’s ambition of developing a globally-competitive manufacturing sector, combined with relatively slow progress on shifting away from using coal for electricity production, means India will become the world’s biggest polluter in the …
23rd August 2023
Global steel production continues to stagnate Global steel production will probably continue to edge lower in the next few months, following the latest month-on-month decline revealed by the WSA today. Crucially, we think that steel demand will soften as …
22nd August 2023
Global aluminium supply slides into contraction Global aluminium production growth slowed for the seventh consecutive month and dipped into contractionary territory in July on the back of weakness in China. We think production growth will stagnate as …
21st August 2023
Price volatility in the wake of news of possible strike action at Australian LNG export terminals serves as a reminder that natural gas markets are still carrying the scars of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. High volatility is likely to remain until …
Commodity prices generally fell this week, dragged down by a surging dollar and data that showed China’s economy struggled in July. Asia LNG and EU natural gas prices were the exception, rising as the spectre of strikes at several LNG facilities in …
18th August 2023
The outlook for industrial metals demand has deteriorated alongside the weakening of China’s economy this year, particularly in the property sector. Monetary and fiscal stimulus might paper over the cracks, but we doubt it will be enough to do much more …
16th August 2023
Given the dominance of coal in China’s energy mix, a medium-sized electric vehicle (EV) produced there currently starts life with a “carbon debt” almost twice that of an equivalent internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle. However, the greater efficiency …
15th August 2023
We think that Arabica and Robusta coffee prices will remain historically high over the next 12 months or so, but especially the Robusta price owing to greater El Niño-related supply risks. With that said, we forecast that global coffee supply will …
Natural gas prices were the biggest mover in commodity markets this week, jumping higher on the back of news of potential industrial action at LNG plants in Australia. We don’t think gas prices in Europe are likely to return to their peaks of last year , …
11th August 2023
Weak economic activity in developed economies and a stronger dollar will temper gains in most commodity prices over the rest of the year. In oil markets, Saudi Arabia’s output cuts have kept supply constrained while demand in the US and China has held up. …
9th August 2023
Energy prices will remain historically high over the remainder of this year, albeit significantly lower than their peak in 2022. Supply in the oil market is constrained and demand appears to be holding up well. The natural gas market appears comfortably …
We expect targeted stimulus in China to put a floor under base metals prices in the remainder of 2023. But the slowdown in developed economies (DMs) will prevent significant gains. Prices should start to pick up in 2024 as monetary easing takes hold in …
8th August 2023
China’s commodity import volumes fell in July compared to June. Policy support should help lift metals imports over the next few months. And although crude oil imports fell sharply, we think that rising international aviation to and from China will …
It’s been a mixed week for commodity prices. Industrial metals price generally struggled as activity surveys for China paint a grim picture of demand . (See Chart 1.) We suspect prices will tread water over the rest of the year as Chinese fiscal …
4th August 2023
The outlook for global agricultural supply has deteriorated since the start of the year as a result of extreme weather, the end of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the prospect of an El Niño weather event and rising agricultural protectionism. We have …
Saudi Arabia’s announcement yesterday that it would extend its unilateral oil production cut of 1m bpd into September sent the Brent crude oil price climbing to $85 per barrel, where it remains today. We think the price will remain at around this level …
We think the price of rice is set to climb after India’s additional rice export restrictions have exacerbated global shortage concerns. For now, though, we don’t expect other major producers to follow suit. India recently tightened rice export …
1st August 2023
China’s PMIs suggest that commodities demand has come completely off the boil. For the recent rally in industrial metals prices to be sustained, China’s policymakers will have to deliver on promises of stimulus. In continuing a recent theme, the official …
The message from electric vehicle sales data is now clear: the EV revolution is alive and kicking and poses important implications for oil demand. We are slightly more optimistic on the pace of EV adoption than other forecasters and suspect the drag on …
31st July 2023
Most commodity prices rose this week on hopes of Chinese fiscal stimulus and a “soft landing” in developed markets. That said, a stronger US dollar later in the week meant that the prices of precious metals fell w/w. The star performer, however, was the …
28th July 2023
Global growth in steel output stagnating Global steel production growth picked up in June, albeit only to a pace consistent with stagnant growth. With the rise in output in China on shaky ground and weak demand beginning to weigh on supply in other …
25th July 2023
In a week when the US dollar strengthened and the 2-year US Treasury yield rose, agricultural and energy commodity prices still climbed on the back of supply concerns. In the case of agriculturals, those relate to Russia pulling out of the Black Sea Grain …
21st July 2023
Aluminium production remains strong but growth is softening Global aluminium production growth eased again in June, in a sign that smelters are responding to weak demand growth. We think that production growth will remain subdued over the next few months …
20th July 2023
China’s recent announcement of export restrictions on two metals used to make semiconductors serves as a reminder that China dominates production of metals needed for the green transition. We have warned in the past that the green transition is unlikely …
While the wholesale European natural gas price is now close to pre-energy crisis levels again, we don’t expect EU gas consumption to rise in response. Rather, we think that EU gas consumption has structurally fallen. This is the main reason why we think …
The widely-differing impact of El Niño across continents means that the net effect on global mining output is not clear cut. On balance, though, the likelihood is that it will lead to lower ore output, particularly of copper, and that it will be a factor …
18th July 2023
For the most part, commodity prices rose this week. A weaker US dollar in the wake of a lower-than-expected June CPI reading in the US was a key factor boosting prices. Not surprisingly, the prices of the precious metals rose sharply (1) . Chart 1: US …
14th July 2023
El Niño is coming but the picture is more nuanced than one of doom and gloom for global production of all crop types. For corn, soybeans, wheat and rice, larger harvests in some regions can outweigh declines in others. For prices, there are still upside …
China’s commodity import volumes remained high in June, helped by the economic re-opening, but they were held back by softening input-related demand for the manufacture of goods for export. As economies in Europe and the US flirt with recession, this will …
13th July 2023
Not so long ago, a higher 10-year TIPS yield almost invariably meant an underperformance of US “growth” stocks vis-à-vis their “value” peers, a lower gold price, and a stronger dollar. That’s changed in 2023, though, with the relationships weakening …
The spot price of Asia LNG should trade at a premium to Europe’s TTF gas at end-2023 given stronger demand growth in Asia and the fact that LNG is more costly to produce. The spot price of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Asia has periodically moved …
12th July 2023
The likelihood of an El Niño event in the second half of this year adds to upside risks to global inflation and downside risks to activity. For the advanced economies, higher prices of agricultural commodities could slow the decline in food inflation. But …
Despite the flurry of macro data, it was a relatively quiet week for most commodity prices. Generally, a slight weakening in the US dollar, on net, contributed to small price rises. Oil market deficit just got deeper Oil prices were among the largest …
7th July 2023
How will the combination of El Niño and human-driven global warming affect commodities and economic performance over the short and long term? … El Niño – Macro, policy and market …
Expectations of fiscal stimulus in China have thrown previously floundering copper prices a lifeline. If policymakers go ahead, that may keep a floor under prices before a turnaround in construction in China and accelerating electric vehicle rollouts …
5th July 2023
After fluctuating between $500 and $600 per 1,000 board feet for most of this year, we expect the US lumber price to fall from around $520 today to $475 by the end of the year due to weaker demand. The key risk to our forecast is that concern grows about …
We recently held a Drop-in titled “Industry’s decarbonisation challenge – From aviation to property”, which you can view on-demand here . This Update addresses some of the questions we received during the event, including those that we did not have time …
3rd July 2023
China’s PMI aren’t consistent with some of the worst fears around China’s reopening recovery and weak commodities demand. But neither are they positive enough to warrant the boost to prices, such as steel, last month. For that, hopes of fiscal stimulus …
There wasn’t a consistent direction to commodity prices this week. Natural gas prices in Europe and Asia rose (1) , indicating stronger competition for LNG cargos. Meanwhile, most industrial metals prices fell due to pessimism around the outlook for …
30th June 2023
Overview – We expect most commodity prices to struggle this year against a backdrop of a stronger dollar and deteriorating investor risk appetite. Energy-related commodities will be the exception. We expect prices to tick up later in the year owing to …
29th June 2023
With the Fed still hinting at more interest rate increases, the dollar strengthened and contributed to declines across most commodity prices this week. One of the few prices that did increase was the Asia LNG price, which rose by 7% (1) . This seems …
23rd June 2023
If the weather forecasters are right, El Niño conditions have arrived in the Pacific and are set to build over the next few months. The negative impact on agricultural production will depend upon the strength and duration of these conditions but sugar, …
Note: We’re holding a 20-minute briefing on the challenges that aviation and other key industries face in decarbonising at 10:00 EDT/15:00 BST on Thursday, 29th June. Register now . Despite jet fuel being a fairly small share of total oil consumption, …
21st June 2023
Steel mills slamming the brakes on production Global steel production fell sharply in y/y terms in May. Against the backdrop of subdued demand and stringent supply caps in China, the supply outlook over the next few months appears bleak. According to the …
Aluminium production growth could start to pick up soon If reports of a forthcoming easing of output restrictions in Yunnan province are accurate, then the ongoing slowdown in China’s aluminium production growth could come to an end soon. Much will also …
20th June 2023
We think that the lead price will struggle over the next few months as high interest rates weigh on new vehicle (and lead-acid battery) demand growth and new supply comes online in Australia and Germany. Heading into 2024, we think that the shift to …
19th June 2023
Most prices rose this week (1) , helped by a weaker dollar, stronger-than expected US retail sales in May and interest rate cuts by the People’s Bank of China. Natural gas prices rose particularly sharply due to a number of unrelated disruptions to …
16th June 2023
The latest OPEC oil market report confirms that OPEC countries implemented a fresh round of voluntary production cuts in May, slashing the group’s crude output by 0.4m bpd. Similar to OPEC’s own view on the oil market, we think that it will tighten …
13th June 2023
