Will weakening Chinese demand continue to weigh on commodities?
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Will weakening Chinese demand continue to weigh on commodity markets?
From copper to crude and corn to coal, commodity prices have enjoyed a powerful rally from last year’s pandemic lows, aided by China’s hunger for raw materials and huge stimulus packages.
The question now is whether this broad-based advance, which has boosted the profits of miners, oil and gas companies and big crop producers, has run out of steam. The Bloomberg Commodity Index has drifted higher since the start of May.
To that end analysts and investors will be watching Chinese industrial production numbers on Monday for clues about demand in the world’s biggest consumer of raw materials.
The latest trade data from China suggest that demand is slowing. With a couple of exceptions — most notably coal — imports of key commodities declined both year on year…
