Commodity Prices to Be Driven by Chinese Demand, Pandemic Uncertainty
Commodities outperformed other asset classes last year, with the S&P Goldman Sachs Commodity Index rising by more than 30% to beat the U.S. equity index S&P 500, for the first time in 10 years. However, uncertainty over recovery from the pandemic caused major commodities to experience significant volatility, with some undergoing huge swings amid counteracting supply and demand narratives while others recorded new highs before dropping significantly. China played a role in some commodity markets, as the country is the second main importer of copper, coal, iron ore, crude oil and liquefied natural gas globally. The country’s impact was mostly…