Commodity Weekly: Commodities see bumpy start to March Commodity Weekly: Commodities see bumpy start to March Commodity Weekly: Commodities see bumpy start to March

Commodity Weekly: Commodities see bumpy start to March

Ole Hansen

Head of Commodity Strategy

Summary:  The month of March kicked off with continued and broad weakness after China and the US, the world's two biggest commodity consuming nations, both delivered price softening news. Sentiment received a further setback after steep losses in two small US lenders helped drive the S&P 500 index to a two-month low. In the short term macro-economic developments, especially US data will be watched closely in order to decipher the pace and strength of future rate hikes.


Today's Saxo Market Call podcast.
Global Market Quick Take: Europe


The month of March kicked off with continued and broad weakness after China and the US, the world’s two biggest commodity consuming nations, both delivered price softening news. Sentiment received a further setback after steep losses in two small US lenders – helping drive the S&P 500 index to a two-month low. The Bloomberg Commodity index, which tracks a broad basket of commodity futures spread evenly across energy, metals and agriculture, trades down 1.7% on the month and 7% on the year, with losses this month being led by energy and industrial metals.

The strength of the expected demand recovery in China received a setback after its leaders announced a conservative growth target of 5% for 2023 – one of its lowest targets in decades. This, combined with only a modest increase in fiscal support, lowered expectations for additional stimulus to accelerate the economic recovery. In Saxo’s opinion, part of the reason for this is the Chinese government’s desire to avoid making the same mistakes other governments and central banks have made, which have driven inflation to a four-decade high. Development consumers are now suffering the consequences as central banks increasingly apply their interest rate weapon to bring inflation under control.

Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chair Powell stepped up his attack on sticky inflation. During his semi-annual two-day visit to Capitol Hill, he told lawmakers that he was prepared to increase the pace of rate hikes to a higher-than-expected level should incoming data continue to show strength. The swap market responded by lifting the terminal rate expectation above 5.66% from 4.75% at the beginning of February, before Thursday’s stock market rout across banking stocks helped bring the peak rate back down below 5.5%.

During the Q&A session on Tuesday that followed his prepared statement, a tasty exchange between Powell and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) highlighted the risk the FOMC takes as it continues to hike rates until something potentially brakes. The senator asked Powell what he will say to the two million people losing their jobs if he keeps raising rates. He answered: “Will working people be better off if we just walk away from our jobs and inflation remains 5%-6%?”.

His comment further supported the view that the FOMC will remain very data driven and, besides the small risk of a systemic event taking control, it will keep hiking rates despite the obvious risk to the economic outlook. Saxo will continue to watch the dollar closely, given its inverted correlation with commodities (especially gold) and increasingly how the market price the risk of a recession and with that the scale of the eventual drop-in rates. Saxo monitors this through the terminal Fed fund expectation and the size and speed of subsequent cuts once the terminal rate is reached, currently priced to occur around September this year.

The trade stimulus from China’s reopening continued to fade, following a great deal of excitement at the start of the year, especially after the government set the mentioned moderate growth target. However, writing off China as a major driver for commodity demand growth is premature as it will take several months for the real impact to be felt and for prices to benefit. Not least considering producers tend to respond quicker in terms of adding supply before demand picks up. This was seen recently in China where a February rise in exchange monitored copper inventories has yet to be met by a corresponding pickup in demand.

Crude oil remains rangebound despite headwinds stacking up

The crude oil market remains rangebound with rising demand in Asia so far managing to offset darkening clouds elsewhere, especially in the US where Fed Chair Powell combatant performance on Capitol Hill this past week showed his willingness to risk a recession to bring inflation under control. While data points to a strong recovery in demand from a reopening China, the market was left disappointed after the government published the weakest growth target in decades. In addition, concerns about a banking crisis, however small, kept the risk appetite on the low side.

Overall, these on balance price negative developments, have not been enough to force the market lower and out of the ranges that have prevailed since late November. In the short-term, the macroeconomic focus is likely to override any oil market developments, unless they have a material impact on prevailing supply and demand balances. Having broken the mini uptrend within the prevailing range, Brent may in the short term be exposed to further weakness, not least driven by long liquidation from funds who in recent weeks increased their net long to a 15-month high at 286k lots or 286 million barrels. At the same time, the gross short has continued to collapse – reaching a 12 year low at just 22k lots in the week to February 28. 

Gold finds support in the numbers

Gold and silver took a tumble mid-week when Fed Chair Powell, in his prepared remarks to Congress, said the Fed was prepared to increase the pace of rate hikes and to a higher-than-expected level should incoming data continued to show strength. Having failed to challenge resistance at $1864, gold tumbled before once again finding support ahead of $1800. Meanwhile, silver resumed its week-long slump, hitting a four-month low before finding some renewed buying interest around the $20 level. Relative weakness since late December has seen the gold-silver ratio surge higher from 75 (ounces of silver to one ounce of gold) to a six-month high at 91, a 21% underperformance, and it highlights the short-term challenge silver will be facing to attract fresh demand.

In the short-term, with Powell signalling an incredible data dependency, the focus now turns to incoming US data with the first being Friday’s job report, a number which on balance eased the pressure on the Federal Reserve to increase the size of its next rate hike, pencilled in for March 22. Given the level of elevated rate hike expectation currently priced in, any weakness in incoming data may now trigger a stronger positive response than otherwise warranted.

Saxo watches the timing of peak rates closely as well as how aggressive the market is pricing in a subsequent cut. According to the chart above, the peak rate is currently priced in around July around 5.34%, down from 5.70 earlier in the week. In addition, the subsequent pace of rate cuts has accelerated to 125 basis points during the following 12 months. This is important to note with gold historical performing well in the months that followed a peak in the Fed funds rate, with such a peak often being accompanied by a weaker dollar and lower bond yields.

WASDE adds further downside pressure on corn and wheat futures 

Chicago corn and wheat futures extended their slump this week after the USDA in its monthly supply and demand update said domestic stockpiles rose by more than expected in response to lower exports. The agency also boosted the outlook for Ukraine corn exports while wheat, already under pressure from Russian sales and expectations the Ukraine grain corridor deal will be extended, dropped to a 20-month low after the agency raised production estimates for Kazakhstan, Australia and India. Meanwhile, soybeans found support after the USDA slashed production from drought-stricken Argentina by more than expected. The world’s biggest exporter of soymeal and soy oil will harvest 33 million tons of beans this year, the smallest crop since 2011 and a 20% decline from the agency’s February estimate. 

All the major wheat futures contracts in Chicago and Paris remain under pressure and, according to the relative strength indicators, they have all reached oversold territory. This is a very different story to the price action that was seen this time last year when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – a major supplier of high protein wheat ideal for human consumption – triggered panic buying. Chicago wheat topped out at $12.85 per bushel on March 9 before suffering a 50% setback to the current $6.66 a bushel level.

Disclaimer

The Saxo Bank Group entities each provide execution-only service and access to Analysis permitting a person to view and/or use content available on or via the website. This content is not intended to and does not change or expand on the execution-only service. Such access and use are at all times subject to (i) The Terms of Use; (ii) Full Disclaimer; (iii) The Risk Warning; (iv) the Rules of Engagement and (v) Notices applying to Saxo News & Research and/or its content in addition (where relevant) to the terms governing the use of hyperlinks on the website of a member of the Saxo Bank Group by which access to Saxo News & Research is gained. Such content is therefore provided as no more than information. In particular no advice is intended to be provided or to be relied on as provided nor endorsed by any Saxo Bank Group entity; nor is it to be construed as solicitation or an incentive provided to subscribe for or sell or purchase any financial instrument. All trading or investments you make must be pursuant to your own unprompted and informed self-directed decision. As such no Saxo Bank Group entity will have or be liable for any losses that you may sustain as a result of any investment decision made in reliance on information which is available on Saxo News & Research or as a result of the use of the Saxo News & Research. Orders given and trades effected are deemed intended to be given or effected for the account of the customer with the Saxo Bank Group entity operating in the jurisdiction in which the customer resides and/or with whom the customer opened and maintains his/her trading account. Saxo News & Research does not contain (and should not be construed as containing) financial, investment, tax or trading advice or advice of any sort offered, recommended or endorsed by Saxo Bank Group and should not be construed as a record of our trading prices, or as an offer, incentive or solicitation for the subscription, sale or purchase in any financial instrument. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, would be considered as a marketing communication under relevant laws.

Please read our disclaimers:
Notification on Non-Independent Investment Research (https://www.home.saxo/legal/niird/notification)
Full disclaimer (https://www.home.saxo/legal/disclaimer/saxo-disclaimer)
Full disclaimer (https://www.home.saxo/legal/saxoselect-disclaimer/disclaimer)

Saxo Bank (Schweiz) AG
The Circle 38
CH-8058
Zürich-Flughafen
Switzerland

Contact Saxo

Select region

Switzerland
Switzerland

All trading carries risk. Losses can exceed deposits on margin products. You should consider whether you understand how our products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. To help you understand the risks involved we have put together a general Risk Warning series of Key Information Documents (KIDs) highlighting the risks and rewards related to each product. The KIDs can be accessed within the trading platform. Please note that the full prospectus can be obtained free of charge from Saxo Bank (Switzerland) ltd. or the issuer.

This website can be accessed worldwide however the information on the website is related to Saxo Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. All clients will directly engage with Saxo Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. and all client agreements will be entered into with Saxo Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. and thus governed by Swiss Law.

The content of this website represents marketing material and has not been notified or submitted to any supervisory authority.

If you contact Saxo Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. or visit this website, you acknowledge and agree that any data that you transmit to Saxo Bank (Switzerland) Ltd., either through this website, by telephone or by any other means of communication (e.g. e-mail), may be collected or recorded and transferred to other Saxo Bank Group companies or third parties in Switzerland or abroad and may be stored or otherwise processed by them or Saxo Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. You release Saxo Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. from its obligations under Swiss banking and securities dealer secrecies and, to the extent permitted by law, data protection laws as well as other laws and obligations to protect privacy. Saxo Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. has implemented appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect data from unauthorized processing and disclosure and applies appropriate safeguards to guarantee adequate protection of such data.

Apple, iPad and iPhone are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.