Commodities Update Malaysia Monthly Palm Oil Data (May) Data released today by Malaysia’s Palm Oil Board show that crude palm oil production continued to grow in May, albeit at a slower pace than the previous two months, while inventories hit their highest... 10th June 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Cocoa prices to ease as Ghana’s production rebounds The price of cocoa is likely to remain elevated in the near term due to continued supply concerns. But a rebound in Ghana’s 2015/16 harvest should put downward pressure on prices later this year. 9th June 2015 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Has food price inflation reached a trough? There are good reasons to think that food price inflation has reached a trough. That said, intense supermarket competition seems unlikely to lift soon, meaning that inflation in the sector could... 8th June 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Ample supply to cap oil prices Commodity prices have remained under pressure from continued dollar strength, although supply concerns in the past week have supported some agriculturals – notably wheat and coffee. US lumber prices... 5th June 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Investors become more bearish on agriculturals Over the past month investor sentiment towards agricultural commodities has continued to deteriorate. After turning negative in April, the total number of net-long non-commercial positions for eight... 5th June 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Chart Pack Strong dollar and ample supply weigh on prices R enewed strength in the US currency undermined most commodity prices again last month, with ample supply dragging down crude oil and many agricultural too. Lingering concerns over the risk of a “hard... 1st June 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Dollar strength weighs on commodities (again) Commodity prices mostly fell in the past week, dragged lower by renewed strength in the US currency. Leading the falls, natural gas prices reversed their weather-related gains from earlier in the... 29th May 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Anaemic Chinese import growth weighs on prices China’s trade data for April go some way to explaining the generally weak tone of agricultural commodities prices. For the most part, import volumes were lower in year-on-year terms, in some cases... 29th May 2015 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Butter meltdown highlights policy failures Japan’s butter shortage is the result of agricultural policy failures. It should strengthen the argument that agreement to scale back protectionist measures in the ongoing talks on the Trans-Pacific... 27th May 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Fed back in focus as US inflation picks up The past week has been a good one for commodity prices, with most recording at least a small increase. Adverse growing conditions boosted the prices of coffee and wheat, while silver again... 22nd May 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Supply concerns overshadow dollar weakness Weakness in the US dollar and rising oil prices would normally be considered positive for agricultural commodity prices. However, despite a 3.5% fall in the value of the US currency and a 5% rise in... 19th May 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Dovish US data support commodity prices Commodity prices have generally had a good week, helped by further soft economic data from theUS and a renewed decline in the value of the dollar against other major currencies. Thestabilisation in... 15th May 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Is there any hope for the price of US lumber? Weak US housing starts and high lumber imports are likely to be behind the large fall in the price of US lumber this year. But a rebound in starts over the coming months should support the price. 15th May 2015 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update South Africa: poor corn harvest poses little inflation risk 15th May 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Which commodities could be most affected by El Niño? An El Niño event does not automatically translate into higher commodity prices. Its impact on production and prices will largely depend on its strength and duration, as well as the prevailing... 14th May 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Lower production won’t stop corn & wheat prices falling The USDA’s initial crop forecasts for 2015/16 suggest that world corn, wheat and soybean markets will remain well-supplied. As such, we continue to forecast the prices of all three crops to fall... 13th May 2015 · 1 min read
