The Economics of Commodities and Commodity Markets

Author(s):  
Florian Ielpo

This chapter covers the economic fundamentals of commodity markets (i.e., what shapes the evolution of the price of raw materials) in three steps. First, it covers the theories explaining why the futures curve can be upward or downward sloping, an essential element for commodity producing companies. The evolution of inventories and hedging pressures are the two dominant sources of explanation. Second, the chapter reviews the fundamentals of commodity spot prices: technologies, supply, demand, and speculation. Production costs draw the long-term evolution of prices, but demand and supply shocks can trigger substantial variations in commodity prices. Third, the chapter presents how commodity prices interact with the business cycle. Commodities are influenced by the world activity but can also have a material impact on it.

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Wanjala

Purpose: This paper aims to assess the impact of contemporary Coronavirus Pandemic on tourism and trade with its potential implications on the Kenyan economy. Method: The study considered the cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Ebola epidemics to provide an understanding of the possible impacts that the novel coronavirus pandemic could have on the economy. Results: This study established that the demand and supply shocks of the pandemic will inevitably impact Kenya’s economy specifically, the tourism and trade sectors. The Kenyan government has imposed several measures in an attempt to combat the spread of the coronavirus and cushion the country against a possible economic downturn. The study established that the policies imposed have largely focused on demand shock management. Implications: To effectively minimize the impacts of the pandemic shocks on the economy, it will be prudent for the Kenyan government to design policy responses with a blend of short term and long term orientations. The policies should be multifaceted and their design should involve stakeholders from all the relevant sectors.


Subject Impact of falling commodity prices and dearth of capital on the resource sector. Significance The collapse of commodity prices over the past four years has led to large extractive businesses slashing budgets and overall costs while smaller companies have found it difficult to get financing. As operations experience depletion and costs increase, supply challenges are likely to emerge within the next two years, initially for minor commodities, then for more common ones. Impacts Low prices will provide an opportunity to end-users to secure long-term offtake of raw materials. Pockets of capital such as private equity funds will capitalise on these opportunities prior to mainstream financial institutions. Major companies will wind down their cost-cutting cycles next year and will return as buyers and financiers. Overcapacity will remain a challenge for years for bulk commodities such as iron ore and coal.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Olivier Vidal ◽  
Hugo Le Boulzec ◽  
Baptiste Andrieu ◽  
François Verzier

Humanity is using mineral resources at an unprecedented level and demand will continue to grow over the next few decades before stabilizing by the end of the century, due to the economic development of populated countries and the energy and digital transitions. The demand for raw materials must be estimated with a bottom-up and regionalised approach and the supply capacity with approaches coupling long-term prices with energy and production costs controlled by the quality of the resource and the rate of technological improvement that depends on thermodynamic limits. Such modelling provides arguments in favour of two classically opposed visions of the future of mineral resources: an unaffordable increase in costs and prices following the depletion of high quality deposits or, on the contrary, a favourable compensation by technological improvements. Both views are true, but not at the same time. After a period of energy and production cost gains, we now appear to be entering a pivotal period of long-term production cost increases as we approach the minimum practical energy and thermodynamic limits for many metals.


Author(s):  
V.B. Kondratiev

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the commodity markets and mining industry around the world in different ways. Mining company’s operations have been hit by coronavirus outbreaks and government-mandated production stops. Demand for many commodities remains low. This paper examines the potential long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on future commodity demand, mining prospects, as well as tactical and strategic steps by mining companies to overcome the current crisis quickly and effectively.


Author(s):  
N. S. Levgerova ◽  
Е. S. Salina ◽  
I. А. Sidorova

The results of the technological assessment of new apple, cherry, black currant, red currant and gooseberry cultivars of VNIISPK breeding for the suitability for the natural food production are given. As a result, the cultivars that are promising for cultivation in raw plantings have been selected. For the production of raw materials in the juice industry, apple cultivars with a high juice yield and content of soluble solids higher than 10.0% were selected: ‘Bolotovskoye’ (Vf), ‘Candil Orlovsky’ (Vf), ‘Osipovskoye’ (3x), ‘Rozhdestvenskoye’ ((Vf + 3x), ‘Zaryanka’ (Vm), ‘Priokskoye’ ((Vf + Co), etc. Based on the long-term study of cultivars for their suitability for compote, jam and jelly, the cultivars that are most suitable for these types of processing are identified. It has been found that taking into account the daily needs of vitamins C and P as the most important antioxidants, all processed products from black currant can serve as their sources, all processed products from cherries, as well as apple juice and gooseberry marmalade can serve as a source of P-active compounds. All columnar apple cultivars as well as ‘Bolotovskoye’, ‘Rozhdestvenskoye’, ‘Veteran’, ‘Imrus’, etc. show high suitability for the production of apple chips. Cherry cultivars ‘Rovesnitsa’, ‘Putinka’, ‘Podarok Uchitelyam’ and ‘Novella’ are suitable for dried fruit. Based on the long-term studies of the technological qualities of the VNIISPK gene pool, a new generation assortment has been formed that has an optimal combination of chemical and technological indicators of fruits that meet modern technological requirements and are suitable for cultivation in the raw plantations of Central Russia.


Author(s):  
SAFITRI NURHIDAYATI ◽  
RIZKI AMELYA SYAM

This study aims to analyze whether the difference that occurs in the cost of raw materials, direct labor, and factory overhead costs between the standard costs and the actual costs in PLTU LATI is a difference that is favorable or unfavorable. Data collection techniques with field research and library research. The analytical tool used is the analysis of the difference in raw material costs, the difference in direct labor costs and the difference in factory overhead costs. The hypothesis in this study is that the difference allegedly occurs in the cost of raw materials, direct labor costs, and factory overhead costs at PT Indo Pusaka Berau Tanjung Redeb is a favorable difference. The results showed that the difference in the cost of producing MWh electricity at PT Indo Pusaka Berau Tanjung Redeb in 2018, namely the difference in the price of raw material costs Rp. 548,029.80, - is favorable, the difference in quantity of raw materials is Rp. 957,216,602, - is (favorable) , the difference in direct labor costs Rp 2,602,642,084, - is (unfavorable), and the difference in factory overhead costs Rp 8,807,051,422, - is (favorable) This shows that the difference in the overall production cost budget is favorable or profitable. This beneficial difference shows that the company is really able to reduce production costs optimally in 2018.  


2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah & Al-Taye

This study was aimed at assessing marketing efficiency in the main sites of meat production of calf fattening fields in the private sector due to the importance of meat, especially red meat, which has essential nutrient for human body growth and high commodity prices depending on the measurement indicators used to suit the nature of the research conducted in calves fattening production fields in Gogjali region- Nineveh  (2018). The basic source data of the study is obtained from sources on the ongoing ground- marketing questionnaire of three levels, the producer, the wholesaler, the retailer and two fields groups of caste random sample. The first group included (100) fields with imported calves class. The second included (51) fields with local calves class. Whereas, according to the production and marketing costs indicator, the average of marketing efficiency (ME1 ) of marketed meat in both groups of claves fattening fields amounted (92.47, 93.39%) respectively for a kilogram which is a sign of high production costs and, according to the marketing margins indicator, the average of marketing efficiency (ME2 ) of marketed meat in both groups of claves fattening fields amounted (86.89,79.13 %) for per kg which is a sign of high marketing margins. Thus the study concluded a high value of marketing efficiency using the first scale with the fattening period time for both groups while marketing efficiency by using the second scale was characterized by the gradual decline in the imported fattening fields and a gradual rise in the local fattening fields.  The study recommends supporting production inputs (fodder, treatment), unifying markets and limiting the    importation of red meat importation  in order to obtain a good production and currency policy by which the production costs could be reduced to the minimum .


2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (11) ◽  
pp. 3835-3842
Author(s):  
Mihai Dumitru Tudor ◽  
Mircea Hritac ◽  
Nicolae Constantin ◽  
Mihai Butu ◽  
Valeriu Rucai ◽  
...  

Direct use of iron ores in blast furnaces, without prior sintering leads to a reduction in production costs and energy consumption [1,2]. Fine-grained iron ores and iron oxides from ferrous wastes can be used together with coal dust and limestone in mixed injection technology through the furnace tuyeres. In this paper are presented the results of experimental laboratory investigations for establishing the physic-chemical characteristics of fine materials (iron ore, limestone, pulverized coal) susceptible to be used for mixed injection in blast furnace. [1,4]. The results of the experimental research have shown that all the raw materials analyzed can be used for mixt injection in blast furnace.


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