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Commodity Markets
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OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report – June 2016
Commodity Markets
Energy commodity markets advanced in May on the continued strengthening of
crude oil, while non-energy commodities showed mixed trends, with agricultural
prices rising mainly due to the effects of El Niño. Meanwhile, momentum slowed
in the manufacturing sector of China, weighed down by base metals prices.
Trends in selected commodity markets
In May, supply concerns, mainly caused by weather-related events, led to advances in
energy and food prices. At the same time, manufacturing prospects presented a mixed
picture, with the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) improving in the US, but slowing in
the largest metal consumer China, which generally diminished support for base metals.
Meanwhile, improvements in US economic conditions and signals by US Federal
Reserve officials of support for interest rate hikes this year strengthened the US dollar
during the month, acting as a drag on commodity prices.
Table 2.1: Commodity price data
Agricultural prices
advanced, mainly due to the impact of weather-related events. In
Argentina, torrential rain translated into concerns about the output of soybeans and
soybean meal, of which Argentina is the world’s largest exporter. In fact, soybean meal
prices increased by 22.3% during the month, leading gains in non-energy commodities.
Meanwhile, rains in the main sugar cane producing region of Brazil translated into
% Change
Mar 16 Apr 16 May 16 May/Apr
2015
2016
Energy
47.3
51.1
56.7
10.8
70.4
47.4
Coal, Australia
$/mt
52.2
50.8
51.2
0.8
60.4
50.9
Crude oil, average $/bbl
37.3
40.8
45.9
12.7
55.0
37.0
Natural gas, US
$/mmbtu
1.7
1.9
1.9
0.9
2.8
2.0
Non-energy
77.8
79.8
81.0
1.5
86.1
77.8
Agriculture
85.9
88.6
91.5
3.2
91.9
86.7
Food
88.3
90.9
95.0
4.6
94.7
89.2
Soybean meal
$/mt
325.0 355.0 434.5
22.4 415.6 354.7
Soybean oil
$/mt
761.0 796.0 798.5
0.3 770.6 768.1
Soybeans
$/mt
375.0 393.0 425.0
8.1 403.6 385.8
Grains
84.4
85.7
87.3
1.8
93.5
85.2
Maize
$/mt
159.1 164.4 169.0
2.8 172.2 162.6
Wheat, US, HRW $/mt
191.2 187.5 171.8
-8.4 231.0 186.2
Sugar, world
$/kg
0.3
0.3
0.4
11.7
0.3
0.3
Base Metal
66.5
66.7
65.1
-2.3
80.3
64.7
Aluminum
$/mt
1,531.0 1,571.2 1,550.6
-1.3 1,805.9 1,533.0
Copper
$/mt
4,953.8 4,872.7 4,694.5
-3.7 5,967.3 4,718.3
Iron ore, cfr spot
$/dmtu
56.0
61.0
55.0
-9.8
60.2
52.2
Lead
$/mt
1,802.2 1,732.3 1,707.8
-1.4 1,885.7 1,730.8
Nickel
$/mt
8,717.3 8,878.9 8,660.4
-2.5 13,904.2 8,612.5
Tin
$/mt
16,897.6 17,032.7 16,707.0
-1.9 17,362.9 16,011.1
Zinc
$/mt
1,801.7 1,855.4 1,869.0
0.7 2,146.8 1,751.3
Precious Metals
95.6
96.3
98.1
1.9
95.0
93.4
Gold
$/toz
1,245.1 1,242.3 1,261.0
1.5 1,210.8 1,209.2
Silver
$/toz
15.5
16.4
16.9
3.6
16.7
15.6
Source: World Bank, Commodity price data.
World Bank commodity price indices (2010 = 100)
Unit
Commodity
Monthly averages
Year-to-date