Energy: U.S. oil inventories have risen for the ninth consecutive week, a dynamic that weighs on oil prices since they have lost some ground last week, respectively at 82.50 and 76 USD per barrel for European Brent and U.S. WTI. We can add that investors still expect a more hawkish Fed in its policy as the latest economic data suggest that the US economy is still very (too) strong. This will penalize risk assets, including oil. In Europe, natural gas is stabilizing around 52 EUR/MWh for the Dutch benchmark.

Metals: On the London Metal Exchange, the price of a ton of copper is trading at around USD 8800. In major news this week, Canadian company First Quantum suspended operations at its Cobre Panama copper mine due to a dispute with the Panamanian government. The site is one of the largest mines in Central America and accounts for about 1.5% of global copper production. Other industrial metals, such as zinc, aluminum and lead, have stabilized over the past five days. In precious metals, the surge in bond yields is still weighing on short-term gold, which has fallen for another week to USD 1,810.

Agricultural products: In its latest monthly report, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) expects a significant increase in U.S. corn production due to an increase in the area dedicated to this crop. This increase is of the order of 10% year-on-year. It is even more spectacular for wheat, whose national production is expected to jump by 14%, again for the same reasons. In Chicago, a bushel of wheat is trading down to 730 cents, as is a bushel of corn at 650 cents.