Sugar
Asset allocators must pay attention not only to the magnitude of an asset’s expected returns but also to its shape, a concept technically known as skew. Adding skew into our analysis moves our equity allocation up to neutral while bonds remain at underweight. Plus: a new tactical trade is to buy sugar.
If the Fed convinces markets it is on track to lift rates this year and a couple of times next year, we expect a 10% appreciation of the USD over the next 12 months. This would be extremely bearish for commodities.
Clearing the refined-product overhang in the global storage markets is not as straightforward as it used to be: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), China, and India all are making concerted efforts to boost refining capacity, which is leaving them with surplus product that ends up being sold in export markets.
Global oil demand will continue to surprise to the upside over the balance of the year - growing at a rate of 1.6 MMb/d - following an unexpected surge over the first five months of 2016.
Gold will remain well bid over the short term. The surge in demand that pushed prices up by 20% ytd (Chart of the Week) will continue to dominate supply growth.
Monetary policy at systematically important central banks will determine the winners and losers in global ag export markets going forward. The evolution of fundamentals - supply, demand, and inventories - will remain essential drivers. Mother Nature is the wild card.