Energy: Oil prices went into reverse last week, beginning a sequence of sideways movement that seems quite legitimate given the meteoric rise in oil prices. The latest data from the U.S. Energy Agency (USEA) showed that the price of Brent crude oil has risen from USD 72 to USD 87 per barrel since mid-March. The latest data from the U.S. Energy Agency has weighed on the trend as the EIA points to weakening gasoline demand, which is an excellent barometer of the ongoing economic slowdown in the U.S. US WTI and European Brent crude have thus lost ground this week, at USD 77.30 and USD 80.80 respectively for the two global references. For European natural gas, there is nothing to report, with the Rotterdam TTF still trading at around 41 EUR/MWh.

Metals: The industrial metals segment declined overall, weighed down by a strong dollar and mixed economic statistics on industrial production in China. A ton of copper is trading at USD 8800 on the LME. Some mining companies have published their quarterly accounts, such as Brazilian giant Vale, whose iron ore production rose by 5.8% in the first quarter year-on-year. Rio Tinto reported that its iron ore production jumped by 11% in the first quarter, still year-on-year. Antofagasta also reported an increase in mine production, with copper production up 5%. In precious metals, the ounce of gold is hovering around USD 2000.

Agricultural products: Like energy and metal prices, grain prices also declined last week. In Chicago, the bushel of wheat still showed some resistance by stabilizing around 675 cents. Corn, on the other hand, is losing ground at 620 cents. The news in the soft commodities segment is dominated by Russia, which is threatening to terminate the grain agreement from Black Sea ports if the G7 decides to drastically restrict its exports to Russia.