Ongoing fears of a global economic recession, not to mention the escalating trade war between the USA and China, are having an impact on commodity prices.
August has been a particularly torrid month, according to analysts, with iron ore prices in particular suffering a sharp drop – up to 30% according to a report in the Financial Times, although other sources also back this up.
The ongoing uncertainty has also had its effect on oil prices, with OPEC cutting production while the USA has increased theirs. This has had its impact on the futures price of oil, with Brent Crude for October falling 31 cents, or 0.5%, to $60.18 a barrel.
According to the latest analysis from Marketwatch.com, published on August 30, “Commodities will end August with a second straight monthly loss”.
It says that the S & P GSCI index, which tracks 24 commodities across five sectors was down by more than 4% at the end of August, following a fall of 7% in July.
Gold and Silver prices, on the other hand have been steadily rising, with Silver reaching a 1-year peak last week, breaking $17 per ounce and Gold prices rising by almost 7% in August.
In the grain sector, Marketwatch reports the biggest decline in corn, of more than 0.9% over the year. Corn futures prices for August were also down, by 9%.
Bloomberg publishes a useful summary of commodity prices covering three sectors, energy, precious and industrial metals and Agriculture here.
Stability is not yet in sight with the ongoing uncertainties over global trade, fears that Germany will soon fall into recession, the outcome of Brexit still unknown and the latest set of USA-imposed tariffs on Chinese goods kicking in from September 1. As a consequence, predicting what will happen to commodity prices is going to be increasingly difficult for the foreseeable future.
This is not likely to be something businesses will be happy to hear as it makes planning more risky.
Menu