WTI Crude Oil Has Remained Relatively Stable, Coffee Futures, Palladium Futures Touch 4-week Highs

Summary:

• Crude traded in a narrow range as investors continue to gauge the outlook for global demand.
• Coffee has dropped more than 2% in 2022.
• Palladium prices are 30% lower than they were in March.

WTI Crude Oil stayed relatively stable

WTI oil futures have been trading in a narrow range this week, holding around $87 a barrel on Wednesday as investors continue to gauge the outlook for global demand. The International Energy Agency is still pessimistic about fundamentals in the near term, pointing out that as the global economic recession deepens, growth in oil consumption is predicted to decelerate in the last quarter of 2022. However, the Paris-based company anticipates a significant increase in demand by 2023. OPEC, on the other hand, provided a somewhat more upbeat picture, keeping to its projections for worldwide solid oil demand growth in 2022 and the following year and highlighting indications that developed countries are still able to withstand challenges like rising inflation. Market expectations for the continuation of the 2015 nuclear agreement between the West and Iran have fallen in the meanwhile, but reports that the US was considering restocking its strategic oil reserves helped to maintain prices to some extent.

✕ WTI Crude Oil Futures Price Chart

Coffee futures

Trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that monitors the benchmark price for this commodity shows that coffee has dropped 4.60 USd/Lb or 2.03% since the start of 2022.

✕ Coffee Dec ‘22 Futures Price Chart

Palladium futures touch 4-week highs

As the dollar index deviated from 20-year highs, palladium futures increased their gains to $2,200 per ounce, the highest level in almost four weeks. Nevertheless, in spite of rising interest rates and slowing GDP, palladium prices are 30% lower than they were in March. It is anticipated that central banks would keep raising interest rates to keep inflation from soaring even when the economy is slowing. Furthermore, despite the price increase and supply chain disruptions, demand for palladium, which is used in auto catalysts for gasoline-powered vehicles, has not yet returned to its pre-pandemic levels. However, there is still a shortfall on the palladium market.

✕ Palladium Dec ‘22 Futures Price Chart

Sources: finance.yahoo.com, tradingeconomics.com