Daily FNArena News - Commodities

Investors have been expecting ongoing shortages of coal, and thus further price rises, for years to come. New insights by GaveKal say reality may turn out to be different.

Is the great US ethanol bubble about to burst?

The combination of falling demand and solid supply at present has Standard Chartered tipping a fall in jet fuel prices in coming months.

The copper market is hearing rumours of a secret stockpile of around 800,000 tonnes of copper in Chinese warehouses but according to Barclays Capital there is little substance to back them up.

Sick of scrambling to secure raw materials from tight supplies, South Korea announced it would triple stockpiles.

Danske Bank remains bullish on aluminium given the expectation China will soon switch to being a net importer of the metal and prices are currently close to the cost of production.

TradeTech has raised its weekly spot price indicator for uranium to US$60/lb, but above all investors are back, the consultant reports.

A poll by TV station Sky Business among experts in Australia has generated a range for oil price forecast by year end between US$100 and US$175 per barrel.

While some investors may be getting nervous about the outlook for commodity prices Barclays Capital notes structured products and those targeting new markets in the sector are growing in popularity.

Chartists at Barclays Capital expect gold to break through resistance at around US$950 per ounce in coming weeks but National Bank suggests this rally may be the peak for the metal.