The International Monetary Fund has forecast a significant fall in commodity prices over 2012-13, with a risk that an unstable global economy could drag them down even further.
Releasing two chapters from next week’s World Economic Outlook, which will publish its new forecasts for global economic growth, the IMF warns that in the near term, and perhaps the long term, commodity prices are likely to slump rather than to hold to present levels………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Commodity-exporting countries should prepare for lower prices given weaker global economic activity and lower demand, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.
The IMF said some commodity-exporting nations should save their windfalls from current higher prices to protect their economies in the event of a price downswing. Other exporting countries should use commodities profits to reduce their debt, the IMF said in analytical chapters of its World Economic Outlook report………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Saving up during good times for use in bad times—via countercyclical budgetary policies—protects small commodity-exporting countries from swings in commodity prices. But if and when the higher prices appear to be permanent, commodity exporters can begin to spend on public investment and to lower taxes to boost private sector productivity, output and welfare.
This is the conclusion of a new study by the IMF—“Commodity Price Swings and Commodity Exporters,” Chapter 4 of the April 2012 World Economic Outlook—that looks at how countries can manage the boom-bust cycle in commodity prices. (Press Release)

In China’s boom years, everything from copper to soybeans benefited from turbocharged demand growth. Now that the economy is slowing, investors need to take a more nuanced view.
March’s trade data points the way ahead. A return to surplus for the trade account reflected rusty demand for metals. First-quarter imports of iron ore were up just 6% in volume from a year earlier, compared with an average of 17% growth in the past five years………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Eswar Prasad, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington and a former IMF official, talks about the impact of commodity prices on emerging-market economies. He speaks with Mark Crumpton on Bloomberg Television’s “Bottom Line.”.………………………………………Full Article: Source

The US Energy Information Administration Tuesday lowered its forecast for global oil demand in 2012 to 88.81 million b/d, down 150,000 b/d from a month earlier, according to its April Short-Term Energy Outlook.
The revision by EIA puts year-on-year oil demand growth in 2012 at 890,000 million b/d. The global oil demand estimate for 2011 was revised up by 20,000 b/d, to 87.92 million b/d, according to EIA………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Iran’s oil output is set to decline by 1 million barrels per day (mbpd) to below 2.5 mbpd by the end of June, states JP Morgan. Countries have been reducing their oil purchases from Iran and shifting to other sources due to increased pressure from the US.
“In total, the reported shifts may account for a further reduction of nearly 300,000 barrels per day in Iranian crude sales during April which would imply lost sales are now approaching 700,000 bpd below January levels”, Trend News Agency quotes……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Consumer groups and some industrial are pushing the Obama administration to limit commodity speculation centered in the nation’s largest investment banks that they say is largely responsible for the recent in gasoline prices at the pump.
Democrats in Congress are preparing a volley against oil market speculators in their effort to counter charges by Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney that the Obama administration’s energy policies are to blame for skyrocketing gasoline prices………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Opec is seeking a balance in world oil prices, but political instability rather than production issues are affecting the market price, Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul Kareem Luaibi said.
Brent crude slipped around $1 yesterday after Iran agreed to resume talks on its disputed nuclear programme, easing fears over a supply disruption, and prices were under pressure on demand growth concerns………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Peak oil came and went. It was acknowledged by the International Energy Agency, the IEA, in their World Energy Outlook 2010 Executive Summary, where on pg. 6 of their report, they write:
Crude oil output reaches an undulating plateau of around 68-69 mb/d by 2020, but never regains it’s all time peak of 70 mb/d reached in 2006, while production of natural gas liquids (NGL’s) and unconventional oil grows strongly………………………………………..Full Article: Source

China’s crude-oil imports jumped to near-record levels in March, bolstering the belief among some energy analysts that the country is again hoarding oil for its strategic reserves.
If the predictions prove accurate, China’s growing thirst for oil could underpin already-high crude prices and push the country’s oil imports above market expectations………………………………………..Full Article: Source

U.S. dollar gold bullion prices fell as low as $1642 an ounce during Tuesday morning’s London trading – though still slightly up on last week’s close following Asian session gains – while stock markets fell and commodities were flat as markets digested last Friday’s disappointing US jobs data.
“Major support [for gold] comes from the long-term uptrend, which is still intact, currently around $1600,” says the latest technical analysis note from bullion bank Scotia Mocatta………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Silver imports into India, the biggest consumer of the white metal, are likely to decline up to 27 percent this year on expectations of volatile prices, despite import duty remaining unchanged, the head of the country’s biggest bullion importer said on Monday.
Sunil Kashyap, head of Asia at Scotia Mocatta, a unit of Bank of Nova Scotia, said investors in India were averse to steep and volatile changes in prices of silver, which could dent imports………………………………………..Full Article: Source

It was a challenging week for gold investors. Although the yellow metal has been on a spectacular 11-year bull run, recent strength in the economy has some thinking gold’s heyday is over.
As I often say, investing, like life, is about managing expectations—even throughout gold’s decade-long rise, price action over the short term can go both ways. It helps to look at what happens after short-term drops………………………………………..Full Article: Source

In the not-so-distant past arguing that precious metals prices were setup to fall generally elicited a response which was not very pleasant. In fact, during gold’s infamous bull market rally on several occasions I called for pullbacks which regardless of the accuracy of my call generated hate mail that seemingly never ended.
Fast forward to the present and hardcore gold bugs remain transfixed on the idea that precious metals must rise………………………………………..Full Article: Source

From the market peak in May 2008 to the market low in March 2009, the S&P 500 lost a whopping 52.8% of its value. More than eight million jobs were lost. The unemployment rate nearly doubled from 5.4% in May 2008 to 10% by October 2009.
But believe it or not, that wasn’t a real financial collapse. Just ask any Argentinean. Back in 2001, after decades of a repeated inability to repay its national debts, rating agencies finally declared Argentina in “effective default.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Silver imports into India, the biggest consumer of the white metal, are likely to decline up to 27 percent this year on expectations of volatile prices, despite import duty remaining unchanged, the head of the country’s biggest bullion importer said.
Sunil Kashyap, head of Asia at Scotia Mocatta, a unit of Bank of Nova Scotia, said investors in India were averse to steep and volatile changes in prices of silver, which could dent imports………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Silver prices are likely to remain volatile as the outlook for industrial demand softens but investor appetite is not overextended, said Barclays Capital in a daily commodity research note.
According to Barclays, silver was strong a year ago due to healthy industrial and investment demand. “This year, investor positioning in silver is much cleaner, exposing prices to upside potential, but now the industrial picture is far from robust.” the bank added………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Australian mining division occupies an important place in the nation’s economy and although it is one of the smaller divisions it is the most important exporter.
The division is expected to generate revenue of about $205 billion in 2011-12, up from $138.8 billion in 2006-07 and yielding annualised growth of 8.1%. Revenue is expected to grow by 7.2% in 2011-12, having already expanded by 20.7% in the previous year as the division rebounded from the global financial crisis………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Mineral commodities make up one of the hottest investment sectors available. Hi-tech pieces of equipment that span a wide range of applications use rare earth minerals for their light weight and magnetized characteristics. As technological innovation continues moving forward, the demand for rare earths will only increase.
Today’s AbsoluteWealth.com article said that makes now the prime time for learning about and investing in real earths. Absolute Wealth and its subscription program the Independent Wealth Alliance have published the latest Special Report, “Rare Earth Riches: How to Cash In on China’s ‘Dirty’ Secret.” It explains why rare earths hold such high demand throughout the world’s most critical industries, and advises interested investors on the profitable opportunities presented by them. (Press Release)

Mining investment in Chile through 2020 should total $100 billion, of which more than three-fourths will come from the private sector, mining association Sonami said on Monday, as miners scramble to boost holdings amid high prices for many commodities.
Chile, the top copper mining country, is seen producing some 7.5 million tonnes of copper annually within eight years, up from about 5.2 million tonnes in 2011………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Commodity funds as a whole saw net outflows, while agricultural funds outperformed. The battle between inflows and outflows of commodity-related exchange-traded funds continued to see-saw last week, with the asset class seeing a net loss of $192 million in investment capital for the week after regaining net inflows of more than $197 million the week before.
Precious metals funds continue to attract positive flows of capital, with investors sending more than $156 million that way………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) are a popular alternative to mutual funds. Are they right for you? On this week’s Money Matters, financial commentator Greg Heberlein tells KPLU’s Dave Meyer that a well diversified ETF can be a great investment.
Exchanged-traded funds, known as ETFs, were launched in 1992 to track the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock-index. They were nicknamed Spiders………………………………………..Full Article: Source

India Tuesday allowed foreign funds to invest in local commodity exchanges without seeking prior government approval, as it seeks to attract foreign investment crucial to deepen the financial markets.
Foreign funds can now purchase up to 23% in local commodity exchanges without obtaining approval of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, the nodal agency that regulates foreign investment into India………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Zambia Agricultural Commodities Exchange Ltd. plans to resume trading next month, ending a nine- month halt in which it sought to attract shareholders and asked lawmakers to pass a bill to regulate and boost trading.
The Zambia National Farmers Union, which represents growers, is among those that may invest in the exchange once it has distributed stock to members through demutualization, Executive Director Brian Tembo said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff has voiced concern to US President Barack Obama that the easy money policies of developed countries threaten the growth of emerging economies like Brazil.
The comments from the leader of Brazil, the world’s sixth largest economy, came on her first visit to the White House — for talks that yielded little in the way of concrete announcements………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Emerging market currencies tumbled Tuesday as concerns about global growth and the euro-zone debt crisis dominated markets.
Data overnight from China showing weaker imports in March spooked markets, especially commodity-producing economies who rely on Chinese demand. Meanwhile, investors were still digesting Friday’s disappointing U.S. jobs data, which renewed worries that the U.S. economic recovery could stall and remove one of the few pillars of growth……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Global tea prices are likely to surge higher on production drop in the second biggest tea producing nation, India, due to drought in the major growing areas.
According to reports, the global tea prices may climb 12% in 2012. The tea companies has estimated that 2012-13 is likely to very tight demand and supply scenario………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Wheat prices are falling for a second year as a glut of supply expands global stockpiles to an all-time high and farmers prepare to reap the third-biggest harvest on record.
Inventories will gain 7.1 percent to 210 million metric tons this year and output in the next year of 681 million tons will have been exceeded only twice in history, the London-based International Grains Council predicts………………………………………..Full Article: Source