Is the US election campaign damaging to US agricultural trade?

attempted to rebalance the east-west balance in recent years. However if the current administration lacks the economic argument it needs to win votes, then perhaps it has decided that it is time to flex its international muscle to convince American voters it is still the best party to lead them into a trade war. US …

Ship Shape – FIS Commodity Weekly 31/07/20

Ouch Thursday afternoon saw a report that US GDP in Q2 shrank by 32.9%. Now this may have beaten expectations, but it’s a bit like saying that you didn’t come last in the 38,000-person London Marathon, you came second last. That kind of incredible fall is the reason for the huge drops in demand for …

FIS CASTAWAY – EPISODE 18

This week geopolitics takes centre stage as the team discuss escalating China-US tensions weighing on markets, along with outlining current market trends in all of FIS’s markets.     Available now on the FIS website (www.freightinvestorservices.com/media )   Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/7yMLsm5s8tLtrCQr7bG8wD?si=FW6Rvj9HRjClAx3vRjq8iw   And Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/fis-castaway/id1507094242  Disclaimer: This podcast is a marketing communication and is not based upon detailed analysis …

The ‘New-COVID’ Economy

US-China trade tension and rising COVID-19 infections have resulted in negativity creeping into the iron ore market, the greenback, and European shares. The global outlook is being shaken by the threat of a second European wave and a continued rise of infection levels in the US. The uncertainty has seen gold rally to an all-time …

Ship Shape – Global Boom or Global Bust?

The Battle of Marathon, the Sacking of Rome, Einstein developing his theory of General Relativity, the Great Depression, The Second World War, the birth of John B, the launch of the PlayStation 2. All are seismic events that have forged and influenced human history. These and so many other events had a profound effect on …

Ship Shape – FIS Commodity Weekly 17/07/20

A V-Shaped Recovery We have noted for several weeks now that there are more and more examples of countries or sectors returning to work. GDP figures show China has returned to growth, with many other countries reversing the dramatic trend that befell their Q1 economic data. It is, so far, a V-shaped rebound that has …

FIS Castaway

Episode 16 is all about cross commodities. Alistair Pettey, the new head of FIS’s cross commodity execution desk joins Chris, Alex and Tom to discuss new developments as well as the usual markets updates. Available now on the FIS website (www.freightinvestorservices.com/media ) Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/7yMLsm5s8tLtrCQr7bG8wD?si=FW6Rvj9HRjClAx3vRjq8iw And Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/fis-castaway/id1507094242  

Crash, Bang, Recovery

It was never going to be easy recovering from the largest economic shock the world has ever encountered. After record drop in consumer spending, GDP, travel and so many other indicators, it is hard to quite fathom the scale of the disruption, or the mountain left the climb to bring things back to normal. Debt …

China Continues to Purchase U.S. Agricultural Products

Following talks in Hawaii this week China intends to increase purchasing of U.S agricultural products as it tries to meet its obligations to the phase one trade deal.   The world’s largest soybean importer is playing catch up after falling behind due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An unnamed source told Bloomberg news that the Chinese …

China Demand Pushes Copper Higher

Copper continues to make new highs and is now at its strongest level since February 19, driven by vigorous demand from China. Like iron ore, demand is strong, whilst mine closures caused by Covid-19 have restricted supply. This means previous predictions of a surplus are likely to be erased, creating an unexpected V-shaped recovery. In …