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Highlights
- Prices of both crude oil benchmarks dipped more than 7.23% last week.
- Gold prices dropped 2.04% last week due to the strengthening of the US dollar and elevated Treasury Yields.
- Base metals, iron ore, and copper prices slumped last week.
Prices of most of the commodities collapsed last week on rising concerns of slowing global economic growth and fuel demand. The global commodity market remained under pressure on concerns related to interest rate hikes by major central banks across the globe.
In the energy sector, prices of both crude oil benchmarks dipped more than 7.23% last week. Benchmark Brent Crude Oil hit US$113.12/bbl while WTI crude oil futures reached US$109.56/bbl on Friday. Likewise, natural gas futures also took a U-turn and the prices tumbled as much as 22.20% on the weekly basis, the steepest in 2022.
Among precious metals, gold prices dropped 2.04% last week due to the strengthening of the US dollar and elevated Treasury Yields. A global wave of monetary tightening, led by the Federal Reserve’s 75 basis point rate hike, intended to bring down inflation, has weighed on gold prices.
Source: © Bradcalkins | Megapixl.com
Base metals, iron ore, and copper prices also slumped in the last week. Copper prices tumbled 5.19% and iron ore prices dipped 3.31%, respectively, last week amid towering fears related to the global economic slowdown.
In addition to this, prices of industrial metal aluminium also tumbled more than 5% last week to exchange hands near US$2,500/t, the level last seen in July 2021 amid slow demand and rising production. Prices of other industrial metals including tin, zinc, and lead also tumbled last week.
Furthermore, prices of battery metals lithium remained stable last week while nickel prices dropped more than 0.86% in the same period.
Data Source: Eikon Refinitiv
Here are a few significant commodities that recorded substantial volatility last week.
Natural Gas
Natural gas prices recorded the steepest fall in 2022 last week on rising inventories. The weekly EIA data stated that utilities injected 92 bcf of natural gas in the underground storage, well above a 5-year average build of 79 bcf. With Freeport LNG's export facility set to remain offline, traders are expecting an additional 40 bcf of natural gas to be available in the domestic market, oversupplying the market.
Crude oil
Image source: © 2022 Kalkine Media®
Both crude oil benchmarks logged more than a 7.23% weekly drop in the week ending 17 June 2022. The significant drop in both crude oil benchmarks has been witnessed on rising concerns related to slowing global economic growth and fuel demand offsetting worries about tightening supplies.
