Commodities Weekly Easing pain for US grains; is OPEC+ changing its tune again? Although China announced the resumption of its purchases of US wheat this week, we doubt that this will be enough to buck the downwards trend in wheat prices. Meanwhile, OPEC+’s decision to pause any... 7th November 2025 · 4 mins read
Commodities Weekly A false dawn for copper? Soybeans deal not a gamechanger The positive mood music surrounding cooling US-China trade tensions has supported a handful of commodity prices, including copper and soybeans. Although copper prices reached an all-time high this... 31st October 2025 · 3 mins read
Commodities Update Cocoa price falls to offer sweet relief by Halloween 2026 The record-breaking rally that erupted in cocoa almost two years ago appears to be over and prices have fallen back significantly. Speculative trading activity and European cocoa demand are also at... 29th October 2025 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone food inflation should fall next year Food inflation in the euro-zone has picked up this year but we think that it will fall back in 2026. This would reinforce the disinflation that we expect from lower energy prices and slower wage... 17th October 2025 · 3 mins read
Commodities Update Monitoring the return of La Niña The return of La Niña conditions could potentially affect agricultural production in key exporting regions. However, if expectations for a weak and short episode prove accurate, the broader impact on... 9th October 2025 · 3 mins read
Commodities Chart Pack Commodities Chart Pack (Oct. 2025) OPEC+ undershoots, copper goes for gold OPEC+’s decision to raise its output quota by 137,000 bpd in November confounded reports of a larger rise in the run-up to the decision and provided short-lived... 8th October 2025 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly A pivotal OPEC+ meeting?; soybeans as bargaining chips Speculation has mounted that OPEC+ is considering a super-sized increase to output quotas at this weekend’s meeting, which has weighed heavily on oil prices. Irrespective of whether OPEC+ opts for an... 3rd October 2025 · 4 mins read
Commodities Outlook Gold prices to buck the downbeat trend The most acute geopolitical and tariff-related distortion in commodity markets has eased, leaving fundamentals more firmly in the driver’s seat going forward. While the Russia-Ukraine war still... 24th September 2025 · 23 mins read
Commodities Chart Pack Commodities Chart Pack (Sep. 2025) Gold continues to shine, all eyes on OPEC+ There have been several factors supporting gold prices to a record high above $3,500 per ounce, including greater expectations of Fed rate cuts and investor... 4th September 2025 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Weekly Africa Weekly: Zambia IMF money, Lower West African cocoa harvests Zambia secured another disbursement from the IMF this week and, given severe fiscal strains, it seems most likely that policymakers will seek a successor programme when the current one ends in October... 8th August 2025 · 5 mins read
Commodities Update US agriculture to remain resilient in face of headwinds The combination of exposure to retaliatory tariffs, upward pressure on input costs, and heavy reliance on “unauthorised” labour means that the outlook for the US farming sector is highly uncertain... 9th July 2025 · 3 mins read
Commodities Outlook Instability and tariffs cloud otherwise bearish outlook Although instability in the Middle East could easily push oil prices into triple-digit territory, as things stand, the oil market looks set to remain well-supplied and so we expect bearish... 23rd June 2025 · 22 mins read
Commodities Weekly Commodities Weekly: Israel-Iran conflict scenarios, looking beyond oil prices Oil prices continued to climb as the Israel-Iran conflict escalated, but the bigger picture is that the rise in gas prices has been just as significant, and agricultural prices will be next in line if... 20th June 2025 · 4 mins read
Commodities Update Grain prices won’t plummet if war in Ukraine ends Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused grain prices to surge to record levels in 2022, but a peace deal won’t lead to large falls in prices. This is mainly because Ukrainian grain production has already... 27th May 2025 · 2 mins read
Africa Economics Update Insecurity in Nigeria: will Tinubu fix it? Nigeria’s long-running security challenges have brought obvious human costs, and they have also contributed to the economy’s woes by hurting output in the agriculture and oil sectors, weakening demand... 15th May 2025 · 4 mins read
US Housing Market Update The implications of lumber tariffs While higher lumber tariffs will not significantly impact GDP growth in the US or Canada, they will drive up costs for US homebuilders. As affordability is already stretched, it is unlikely that... 29th April 2025 · 5 mins read
