Commodities Update Return of Russian wheat to put more pressure on prices With food price inflation appearing to have peaked and the economy probably already in recession, Russia is unlikely to extend its export tax on wheat. Although the authorities may leave the door open... 11th May 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Oil prices run ahead of themselves After a strong start to the week, with Brent seemingly heading for $70 per barrel, the recovery in oil prices ran out of steam by Friday. Indeed, the rebound over the last few months could simply... 8th May 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update FAO Food Outlook (May 2015) The FAO’s initial forecast for world cereal production, including wheat and corn, is for a fall in 2015, after two years of consecutive record harvests. 7th May 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Investor sentiment diverging, but for how long? Over the past month the S&P GSCI agriculture index has continued to fall, weighed down by large declines in the prices of corn and wheat due to improving supply prospects. As a result, the index... 6th May 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Chart Pack Industrial commodities lead the pack Some weakness in the US dollar and hope for a delay to the first US interest rate hike helped to support commodity prices in April. Meanwhile, although Chinese economic data showed persistent weakness... 1st May 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Agricultural prices facing more US dollar headwinds The appreciation of the US dollar since the middle of last year has been a contributing factor in the general decline in agricultural commodity prices. In this Agricultural Commodities Watch we look... 1st May 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update El Niño set to arrive, but with limited impact An El Niño weather event is looking more likely this year, albeit current expectations are that it will be weak. The risk to supply disruptions and the potential for higher prices should be minimal. 29th April 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Outlook Turning the corner The (largely positive) views set out in our first quarterly of 2015 have mostly been proved right. We continue to believe that this will be a year of recovery for commodity prices as a whole... 28th April 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Relative calm unlikely to last In a relatively quiet week, oil prices consolidated their recent gains as the consensus swung round to our view that the lows recorded in Q1 would prove to be the turning point. However, powerful... 24th April 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update High stocks will overshadow lower cotton production Expectations of lower cotton production for this coming year have underpinned a rise in prices. However, with a glut of stocks, we still think the price will end the year lower. 24th April 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Asia Cocoa Grindings (Q1 2015) Data on Asia’s Q1 cocoa grindings showed a 9.3% y/y decline, the third consecutive y/y fall. This follows declines announced last week in Europe and North America. 24th April 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Weather conditions start to take centre stage With eyes now starting to focus on the new crops in the Northern Hemisphere, changes in weather conditions have underpinned fluctuations in many agricultural commodity prices in recent weeks. In... 23rd April 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Outlook for cocoa prices remains bitter Further falls in European and North American cocoa grindings suggest consumers’ love of chocolate is not as sweet as it once was. Coupled with ample supply, we expect the price of cocoa to fall this... 17th April 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Weaker dollar provides a breather Commodity prices have generally risen since the middle of March, supported by a slightly weaker dollar. However, concerns about Chinese demand have weighed on the prices of some commodities... 14th April 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Oil shrugs off Iran deal A preliminary deal between Iran and the West saw oil prices fall sharply early this week, but they quickly rebounded as it became apparent that the return of Iranian oil exports would be delayed until... 10th April 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update More bad news for grain & soybean prices The USDA’s latest set of estimates suggest that the global glut of grain and soybeans will be evenlarger. With ample supplies and high stocks, we continue to expect the prices of corn, wheat... 10th April 2015 · 1 min read
