Outflows from commodity exchange traded products (ETPs) nearly tripled in May as investors piled record amounts of money into safe-haven government bond ETPs in response to a deteriorating outlook for the global economy.
Investors pulled some $2.9 billion from U.S. and Europe-listed commodity ETPs last month, after withdrawing nearly $1 billion in April, data from asset manager BlackRock showed. Some $1.5 billion of the May outflows came from precious metals ETPs………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Goldman Sachs is returning to an “overweight” recommendation for commodities. “In late March, we downgraded our commodity recommendation due to renewed growth and European sovereign-debt concerns,” Goldman says.
“As these concerns grew, they pushed commodity prices down more than other asset classes to levels below last year’s lows and those justified by fundamentals. Although the macroeconomic backdrop still remains uncertain, particularly in Europe, we believe that the price risks are now shifting more to the upside and are therefore moving back to a near-term overweight recommendation.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

As we asked last week, will China be the driver of commodities demand it was in the last decade? The process of urbanization, in which hundreds of millions have moved to cities from the countryside, has been a big driver of the commodities super-cycle in the past ten years, particularly for materials like iron ore, steel and cement, but also copper and aluminum.
The pace of migration, though, has begun to level off and the FT quotes Macquarie Bank, which forecast that China’s steel demand could peak between 2020 and 2025………………………………………..Full Article: Source

As the world’s population continues to grow and food sources become increasingly scarce, Australia could be in the box seat to take advantage of a possible surge in demand for agricultural products.
The recent round of M&A activity in the agribusiness, like Swiss commodities trader Glencore’s acquisition of global wheat producer Viterra , has sparked suggestions big commodity firms are positioning themselves ahead of any possible boom………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said Tuesday it sees more uncertainty in oil demand in the second half of the year due to “global challenges.”
The eurozone crisis as well as economic weaknesses in other regions are primary reasons for the uncertainty, the organization stated in its monthly report, adding that continued oil supply was assured………………………………………..Full Article: Source

OPEC Tuesday disclosed its members continue to pump oil at levels not seen since 2008 as the most recent production figures show the group’s output rising to its highest this year, leaving the market amply supplied.
In its latest monthly market report, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said its crude production was 32.964 million barrels a day in April, up 631,000 barrels a day from the previous month………………………………………..Full Article: Source

OPEC and the U.S. government agreed on Tuesday that global oil markets could loosen further in the second half of the year, with prospects for demand dimming while non-OPEC supply races ahead more quickly than expected.
In its monthly report on market fundamentals, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, or EIA, cut its forecast for oil demand growth this year by 150,000 barrels per day to 810,000 bpd as the European crisis continues to weigh on the world economy………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The overdone selloff in commodity prices, especially crude oil, has created the potential for a strong rally once fundamentals reassert themselves and hedge funds re-enter the market, according to researchers at Goldman Sachs.
“We believe that the selloff in commodity prices is likely overdone and the price risks are shifting more to the upside,” Goldman said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The price of benchmark U.S. oil rose ahead of a key OPEC meeting that could become a showdown between Saudi Arabia and Iran over how much oil the organization is producing.
U.S. crude oil rose 62 cents to finish at $83.32 per barrel Tuesday in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price international varieties of oil, fell 86 cents to $97.14 per barrel. Brent’s price has fallen about 23 percent since reaching a high of $126.22 for the year in March………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A billion dollars every week. That’s the rate at which the oil and gas industry invests capital into Canada. Other than 2009 – the depths of the financial crisis – that pace of injecting money into the economy has been fairly steady since 2006. However, leading indicators suggest that corporate wallets are getting leaner.
Spending is likely to slow down in the second half of this year, contributing to a year-over-year decrease of about 15 per cent………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The International Energy Agency said the world’s clean energy investments are sorely lacking and this week called for an additional $36 trillion of funding by 2050.
In a sharply-worded introduction to a 700-page report, IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven said governments and private industry need to do far more if the world is to hold global warming to what most scientists say is an acceptable level………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Gold rose for a third consecutive session on Tuesday as physical bullion buying and the accumulation of bullish bets linked to uncertainty over the euro zone debt crisis helped the metal recover from early losses.
Bullion, which veered away from its positive correlation with riskier assets in the previous session, tracked gains in U.S. equities and the euro following their declines on Monday when some investors said the European financial rescue of Spanish banks was too small………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bullion prices on the wholesale gold market rose back above $1600 an ounce shortly before Tuesday’s US trading, after failing to breach that level in the earlier Asian session, while European stock markets also ticked higher after a quiet morning’s trading.
A day earlier, gold briefly rose above $1600 on Monday following the news that Spain will borrow up to €100 billion to rescue its banks, but along with stocks and the Euro gold failed to hold those gains………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Fluctuating price of gold may have put the yellow metal out of reach of those who wish to buy jewellery. But, the slump in international gold prices, too, has spelt bad news for investors.
Jewellers said that international gold price had dipped by 10-15 per cent over the past three or four months. Prices in the global market influence the prices in the city, a jeweller said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Gold is behaving more like a safe haven again, said Commerzbank, the second-largest bank in Germany, after Deutsche Bank.
According to the German bank, in a weak overall market environment, the metal remains just shy of $1,600 an ounce, the bank points out. Not only did Spanish 10-year yields rise Monday despite a rescue package for the country’s banks, but market participants worry that the eurozone debt crisis will widen, with Italy perhaps becoming the next focus………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Most analysts on gold are bearish on the yellow metal for the near term but see long term prospects for precious metals. Jim Rogers, legendary investment guru, who has been bullish on gold and silver for a long time has now toned down his outlook recently. He has stated that he would buy more if gold prices fall to $1330 an ounce.
In recent times, agriculture has become a favourite of Jim Rogers as emerging market demand for agri-commodities would generate more demand and consequently higher returns on agri- investments ……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The fundamentals for silver and gold are very strong, and with all the massive bailouts, which are increasing debt levels, they are just getting stronger. Until a significant portion of these debts is repaid or defaulted on, it would be foolish to talk about a top in precious metals.
The repayment of debt (or default on debt - which is more likely) will result in significantly reduced economic activity. Significantly reduced economic activity will have a negative effect on the stock market, which in this case, will likely result in a huge crash. It is these conditions (a deflating debt bubble) that will drive gold and silver prices significantly higher………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Although he says he doesn’t want to own gold, the world’s most famous investor has taken a shine to what may be the most precious metal of the 21st century – tungsten.
Tungsten – element number 74 on the periodic table — is a super-hard metal used in everything from armor-piercing tank shells to wedding rings. And the world is running out of it – fast. That spells opportunity for savvy investors like Warren Buffett………………………………………..Full Article: Source

During May 2012 the price of gold dropped over 6% and investors withdrew over €1 billion from gold ETPs. Gold exchange-traded products (ETPs) have seen large outflows in both the US and Europe – an unusual occurrence in an environment of increased equity market volatility.
The price of gold declined by 6.1% over the month, fuelling redemptions in ETP holdings, according to a Deutsche Bank monthly market report. European domiciled gold ETPs experienced outflows of €571 million, and it was similar in the US with about €537 million, as outlined in the report………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The investing world seems to be enamored with ETFs, especially those that track certain commodity products. Without going into great detail about tax ramifications and numerous other aspects to consider when investing in one product or the other I will just look at the differences in outcomes with similar dollar amount investments.
For the sake of this article I will look at gold and the different outcomes based upon alternative investment strategies; gold futures, gold options, and gold ETFs………………………………………..Full Article: Source

In 2011, Kazakhstan’s commodity exchanges increased their turnover fivefold. The ETS Commodity Exchange occupies a leading position. Here, the volume of trading in agricultural products section exceeded 1 million tons in 4 months alone while a turnover in futures contracts in the futures market section reached nearly 140 billion tenge in April 2012.
2011 was a successful year for Kazakhstan’s commodity markets and the positive trend has continued this year. According to experts from the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, contracts worth about three billion US dollars were signed at the trading floors of Kazakhstan. This is five times greater than in 2010………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Australia came through the 2008 global financial crisis in fine shape and has gone on growing at a good pace in a world where this is unusual, almost unique, for an advanced country. Even as commodity prices weaken, mining investment is running hot and profits are still growing quickly.
You might think foreign investors would acknowledge the good performance and that Australia would be a favoured destination for them. But not, apparently, for Glencore, the world’s largest commodities brokerage firm, which is about to become the world’s fourth biggest minerals company (worth $90 billion) through a merger with Xstrata………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Emerging-market currencies were mixed and debt was firmer Tuesday as investors stayed cautious of risks in the euro zone, though in calmer markets.
Several emerging-market currencies were able to advance, however, even as Spain’s 10-year government bond yield rose to a euro-era high, reflecting worries that the proposed bailout for Spain’s banks isn’t enough to end the sovereign-debt crisis. Italian government bond yields also surged………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Australian dollar remained half a US cent higher, as one of the best-performing currencies amid rumours on the eurozone. At 7am AEST the local unit was trading at 99.59 US cents, up from 98.95 cents.
Bank of New Zealand currency strategist Mike Jones said the local currency had experienced a rally overnight on a more optimistic market sentiment. “There’s a steady risk appetite in the market which has seen the Aussie dollar grind higher,” he said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Coal-reliant Poland has pitched itself against the other 26 members of the European Union ahead of a debate on a low-carbon energy future this week, EU sources said. The Commission aims to establish policy direction once a set of green energy goals runs out in 2020.
Poland has repeatedly objected to any language in EU texts pointing towards deeper carbon cuts to guide decision-making for the years following 2020, when the EU is set to meet a binding target of a 20 percent emissions cut from 1990 levels………………………………………..Full Article: Source

China’s carbon emissions could be much lower than estimated by a U.N. panel of scientists, according to a leading Chinese climate change specialist.
The comments by Professor Wang Yi, director of the climate change research centre at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, add spice to a long-running debate about the accuracy of the country’s energy use data………………………………………..Full Article: Source