News

November 17, 2008

Soft Commodity Prices Continue To Fall, But Christmas Trees May Be More Expensive This Year

Sally White

A conciliatory offer on timber from Moscow just ahead of the crucial EU was just one of the major events in a week when world politics and finance rather than fundamentals continued to dominate commodity markets. A major issue in the run-up to the wide-ranging summit, from defence to trade, has been the decision to restart negotiations for a new EU-Russia cooperation agreement.

Brutal swings in currencies, widespread lack of trade credits and uncertainty about the severity of world recession again took their toll on markets generally. Shipping markets continue to be dire, reflecting both fears of world recession and lack of trade finance, with rates falling to even more miserable levels. Braemar Seascope reported further tales of major lay-up programmes being implemented, saying it was evident that the container sector, for one, still faced a strong oversupply...