Materials Risk

Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday that it has broken off diplomatic ties with Iran. This comes amid a row over the execution by Saudi Arabia of a prominent Shia Muslim cleric.To be clear, tension...

Nickel was the worst performing commodity in 2015, down 43% to around $8,600 per tonne. Worries over weak Chinese demand for stainless steel (manufactured from nickel) coupled with robust supply...

This is the fourth in a series of articles looking at the top 10 most important drivers behind some of the main commodity futures prices. Episode 4 looks at natural gas, in particular the US...

“Pretty goddamm bad” That was how the Codelco chairman described the outlook for the mining industry last night at the LME. Despite the expectation of many in the Copper market that cuts...

The announcement on 18th September that the US Environmental Protection Agency had issued a Notice of Violation of the Clean Air Act against German car maker Volkswagen (LONDON:0P6N) for misleading...

A once mighty commodity producer, long vilified by the West strikes fear into other producers as its relationship with the US start to thaw. No, this isn’t Iran and the oil market, but Cuba and...

As commodity prices crash below levels last seen at the nadir of the financial crisis its worth asking when, or indeed if, the cycle will turn and commodity prices will bottom out.From an investors...

1) Feed pricesIf feed grain prices increase (so that total input costs rise) the cost of raising livestock also goes up, reducing margins for farmers. Rather than feed cows, pigs and chickens at flat...

1) The Brazilian RealBrazil is the largest producer of sugarcane, producing around 740 Mt in 2013, almost 40% of global output. A decline in the value of the Brazilian currency, the real increases the...

1) Lower oil pricesBrent crude prices fell around 2% following the announcement of the deal. However, it may not be until early 2016 until we actually see any additional Iranian crude being...

Prices for commodities from Nickel to Copper and crude oil to iron ore have slumped over the past week.Futures prices for nickel fell 9% in a single day, Crude saw prices decline 6%. What is notable...

As the people of Greece vote ‘Oxi’ (No) in Sunday’s referendum what are the short and longer term implications for commodity prices?For much of the past week financial markets...

Global food prices fell to their lowest level since September 2009 in May according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) food price index. The index fell 1.4% from April and is...

Commodity investors, producers and consumers are bracing themselves for more extreme weather this year after Australia’s meteorological agency confirmed the return of the weather phenomenon...

Could U.S. Oil production add an extra 1 million b/d by end 2015? Oil traders have perhaps understandably focused on the minutiae of weekly changes in rig activity, oil production and storage levels...

What has actually been agreed? Its not exactly clear, differing reports from Iran and the United States in the wake of the negotiations show that there are many details yet to be agreed upon. What...