Five Key Charts to Watch in Global Commodity Markets This Week

pejrpd3e64h(bfcbm1vpg7r}_media_dl_1.png USDA

Article content

(Bloomberg) — Chinese plastics plants that buy liquefied petroleum gas are turning to the Middle East to replace tariff-hit imports from the US. The battle for over spring-wheat trading has begun with new contracts launching in Chicago. And the US has set new duties on imports of solar panels from fourth Southeast Asian countries. 

Article content

Article content

Here are five notable charts to consider in global commodity markets as the week gets underway.

Article content

Article content

Grain Markets 

Article content

Article content

CME Group, one of the world’s largest derivatives marketplaces, has introduced new futures and options for spring wheat, a grain variety is used to improve flours for bagels, croissants, hearth breads and pizza crust. Trading for the commodity has been dominated for more than a century by MIAX Futures Exchange, formerly known as the Minneapolis Grain Exchange. But now, with MIAX planning to move its spring wheat contract off CME’s Globex electronic platform in the coming months, Chicago-based CME is offering its own version. With 30 million combined acres in the US and Canada, spring wheat is among the most widely planted crops in North America.

Article content

Article content

LPG Trade 

Article content

Shipments of liquefied petroleum gas are crucial to China’s plastics industry. But with tariffs hurting trade from the US, buyers in the Asian country are now seeking alternatives. The move is creating shipment swaps — with tankers carrying American LPG diverting to India and Southeast Asia, while Middle Eastern cargoes meant for those buyers are now heading to end users in China, according to traders. 

Article content

Article content

Article content

Solar Tariffs 

Article content

The US has set new duties as high as 3,521% on solar panel imports from four Southeast Asian countries, intensifying headwinds already threatening the country’s renewable—power development. The move comes from the culmination of a yearlong trade probe initiated under the Biden administration that found solar manufacturers in Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand were unfairly benefiting from government subsidies. The levies are in addition to new widespread tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. And they come as the US is set to add about 502 gigawatts of capacity to the market in the next 10 years, according to an estimate from Wood Mackenzie. 

Article content

Article content

Gold

Article content

An explosive spike in day-trading on the Shanghai Futures Exchange helped global gold prices top $3,500 an ounce recently as Chinese investors flock to the time-honored haven amid concerns about Trump’s trade war. The volume of gold futures contracts traded on the exchange surged to a record 1.88 million lots on April 23, following a period of higher-than-typical flows since the start of the month. The trend may continue amid a recent torrent of Chinese social media posts promoting gold to retail buyers, with investors seeking to hedge against geopolitical tensions and a potentially weaker yuan.