After a volatile year and a seemingly robust start to 2012, Mark Schaltuper, Head of Europe Country Risk & Financial Markets, asked Business Monitor’s Commodities team what the outlook for commodities is for the remainder of the year. John Davies, Ed Coughlan and Ophelie Buchet share their views on the upside potential for the commodity… [Read more]
Business Monitor International (BMI)’s Commodities Team believes that La Niña weather patterns are likely to return at the end of 2011. The US National Weather Service warned on September 8 that La Niña, the weather condition that caused volatility in commodity markets at the beginning of 2011, has already returned and should strengthen by the… [Read more]
BMI’s Africa team is highly optimistic about the Zambian economy, and we believe that GDP growth is likely to exceed 7% in 2011. In a recently published article on Business Monitor Online, we specify three key drivers for growth in the near future: · A good and improving business environment. Zambia is a top-ten reformer… [Read more]
Grain prices broke higher in recent trading led by wheat and the short-term outlook looks positive. Gains followed Vladimir Putin’s announcement that Russia will extend its ban on grain exports until late 2011. However, this development does not fundamentally alter my key views regarding the complex, namely: The short-term outlook for grains is fairly bullish… [Read more]
This week Mark Schaltuper is joined by Cedric Chehab, Head of Commodities Research at BMI, to discuss the outlook for the commodity complex. With macroeconomic headwinds in the making, how will cyclical commodities perform relative to grains and softs, and what are the risks of gold forming a bubble?
There will be two important growth drivers for this: Biofuels and livestock. As alternative energies become more popular, corn (which is used to create bio-ethanol in the US and some other countries) production will require increases, particularly since some governments (notably South Africa) have already implemented plans for increased bio-fuel content in gasoline. Another important… [Read more]
Risk watchdog had been bullish towards the agricultural complex for some time, but last week’s barrage of data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has proved a bit of a game changer. Specifically, while still optimistic on the outlook for soft commodities such as coffee, cocoa and sugar, me and my colleagues here at… [Read more]
