Precious Metals Update New (higher) forecasts for gold and silver We already had a relatively positive view on the outlook for precious metals. However, two new developments have encouraged us to revise up our medium-term projections for the price of gold and, as a... 4th March 2016 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Silver’s underperformance set to reverse soon The recent poor performance of silver is surprising given the resilience of the gold price and the recovery in industrial metals generally. One explanation is that reduced safe-haven demand has... 3rd March 2016 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Gold starting to benefit from demand for inflation hedges The ongoing tussle between gold bulls and bears often boils down to a view on the outlook for US interest rates. If the Fed resumes its tightening soon as global risks fade, supporting the dollar, the... 2nd March 2016 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Will South Africa suffer Brazil’s fate? The main reason why South Africa has not followed Brazil into a deep recession is that the shock to its terms of trade has been less extreme. Our core view is that South Africa faces an extended... 29th February 2016 · 1 min read
Metals Watch Fundamentals pointing to higher gold prices Since the start of 2016, gold has benefited from a resurgence in safe-haven demand on the back of global financial market woes. While the gold price could fall back a bit if, as we expect, the Fed... 26th February 2016 · 1 min read
Metals Data Response China and India’s gold imports (Jan.) While gold imports by China plummeted in January, India’s buying remained strong. Looking forward, local price premiums suggest that the weakness in imports of gold is likely to have persisted through... 25th February 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Prices of industrial commodities may finally be bottoming out Looking past the day-to-day volatility, the prices of many industrial commodities – including oil and base metals – appear to be finding a floor. This is at least consistent with our relatively... 24th February 2016 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Bumper start to the year for China’s PGM imports China’s imports of palladium and platinum surged in January. The seasonal disruption associated with the Lunar New Year holiday might have distorted the figures to some extent. Nonetheless, strong car... 22nd February 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Oil prices may finally be finding a floor Oil prices have ebbed and flowed in the past week on hopes that at least some OPEC members will be able to agree a deal with Russia to freeze output. Admittedly, the recent talks have left many... 19th February 2016 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Can gold rally even if Treasury yields rebound? Over short horizons the gold price is often driven by the same factors that determine US Treasury yields. This means that the price of the precious metal now looks increasingly vulnerable to a... 19th February 2016 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Platinum price to rally as industry braces for strikes The platinum price is set to recover in 2016 as production in South Africa contracts, necessitating a draw-down in the abundant above-ground stocks. We believe that there is a renewed risk of strike... 19th February 2016 · 1 min read
Metals Focus When will metals shine again? The combination of falling supply and stronger demand should set the scene for a recovery in the prices of many industrial metals this year. Meanwhile, although gold will struggle to make further... 17th February 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Weaker dollar supports commodity prices It has been a quiet few weeks for news from China, as disruption associated with the Lunar New Year holiday has made it difficult to determine exactly how the economy has fared so far this year... 16th February 2016 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Precious metals regain their lustre After a weak start to the year, precious metals prices surged last month, bolstered by a weaker US dollar. Gold and silver continued to benefit from safe-haven demand as global equity prices tumbled... 16th February 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Resilience of industrial commodity prices reassuring Given the negativity in global equity markets, the relative stability of industrial commodity prices (especially metals) over the last few weeks has been reassuring. Even Brent crude, while slipping... 12th February 2016 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Silver to outperform gold in 2016 While subdued industrial demand has been one of the main reasons behind the weakness in silver prices over the last few years, 2016 could be the turning point. Indeed, a recovery in the global... 12th February 2016 · 1 min read
