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Is The ‘Bull’ Trend Sustainable in the MT?

COMMODITIES
  • Investors have been questioning if the trend in commodity prices could persist in the medium term as global demand keeps weakening and a growing range of ‘fundamental’ indicators keep pricing in ‘cheaper’ commodities.
  • The top chart shows that commodity prices have been constantly reaching new highs despite China imports plunging in recent months.
    • As China represents over 50% of the total demand for some commodities (i.e. copper), the two times series have historically strongly co-moved together in the past 20 years.
  • The bottom chart shows that the sharp decrease in the annual change in ‘liquidity’ (G4 CB assets) has been also pricing in ‘cheaper’ commodities in the coming months.
  • Significant changes in central banks’ total assets have strongly led commodity prices in the past cycle (by 9 months).
  • In the past few months, we also observe a significant divergence between the US Dollar, which has been constantly strengthening due to the elevated geopolitical uncertainty, and commodities.

Source: Bloomberg/MNI

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