Commodities Update Faster sales of Thailand’s rice stocks should pull down prices The announcement that the Thai government is planning to clear its rice stockpiles in just two years should put significant downward pressure on rice prices over this time period. 27th February 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly “Grexit” could boost gold now, other commodities later Weather-related factors were responsible for the biggest moves in individual commodity prices in the past week: a cold snap in the US drove up the cost of natural gas, while further rains across key... 20th February 2015 · 2 mins read
Commodities Update USDA Weekly Export Sales (12th Feb.) Today’s US weekly export sales data show a further slump in demand for US wheat. And while exports of soybeans also fell sharply, this is likely, at least in part, to be due to seasonal factors... 20th February 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Supply prospects boost cotton but weigh on arabica Agricultural commodities have faced a number of opposing pressures over the last month, including the further strengthening of the US dollar and the partial recovery in the price of crude oil. But... 20th February 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Strong dollar likely to dent US soybean exports US wheat exports have struggled this year as the rising US dollar reduces competitiveness. We think the same could happen to soybean exports as the South American harvest gets under way. 16th February 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Recovery in oil prices may falter soon The rebound in global oil prices has lifted Brent crude back to $61 per barrel, slightly above our existing forecast for the end of the year but consistent with our central scenario of a recovery to... 13th February 2015 · 1 min read
Energy Chart Pack Prospects of supply cuts boost oil and coal prices The main story since the beginning of the year has been the recovery in the price of oil, which is now 20% above its recent lows, reflecting the first signs of supply cuts in response to the previous... 12th February 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Higher demand can’t offset rise in production In spite of higher forecast demand, the USDA has also revised up its estimates of year-end stocks for corn and wheat. And with ample soybean supplies, we continue to expect prices of all three to fall... 11th February 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Outlook 2015 to be a year of recovering prices 2014 was the fourth successive year of poor performance by commodities, especially relative to bonds and equities, but we believe 2015 will be the year when many finally turn the corner. The recent... 9th February 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Lift in wheat price is not the start of an upward trend The price of US wheat posted its first weekly rise since mid-December last week, rallying close to 5%. However, with ample global supplies, we think this rise will prove to be temporary. 9th February 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly A sustained rally in oil prices? Oil prices have rebounded by over 20% in the last week during a period of highly volatile trading. The rally was sparked by growing evidence of declining US rig counts and multiple announcements of... 6th February 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Positive sentiment towards agriculturals fades Abundant supplies of many agricultural commodities and concerns about weak demand are likely to be behind the general deterioration in sentiment towards agriculturals in recent weeks. Indeed, there... 6th February 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Risks to the price of sugar remain to the downside We expect the price of sugar to remain close to its current level this year due to the continuing glut on the world market. A decision by India to re-introduce export subsidies would push the global... 4th February 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Chart Pack Precious metals prove their worth Commodity prices stabilised towards the end of January after sharp falls in oil and copper earlier in the month. The strength of the US dollar and concerns about global growth remain significant... 2nd February 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Copper caught up in January sell-off The copper price has continued to tumble this week. We suspect this is due to financial factors rather than underlying fundamentals. The copper market’s high liquidity has made it vulnerable to... 30th January 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Ukraine’s move to curb wheat exports won’t stop prices falling Given ample global wheat supplies we don’t expect Ukraine’s announcement that it will limit wheat exports over the next six months to have much of an impact on the market. We therefore continue to... 29th January 2015 · 1 min read