| China exerts a massive amount influence on commodity markets. It is said to account for 40 percent of base metal consumption and 23 percent of major agricultural commodities, according to an IMF working paper by Shaun Roache. It's an even bigger market for commodities than the U.S.
Societe Generale's head of commodities research, Michael Haigh writes, that the impact on gold was the most difficult to forecast. Their model suggests that a significant drop in Chinese PMIs (which they use as a proxy for a hard landing) would send gold prices surging 15 percent in the first quarter after a hardlanding to $1,963 per ounce. Gold he points out would be the only commodity to experience this initial rally. ..............................................Full Article: Source
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