Energy: The damage is done. Even though the Swiss National Bank came to the rescue of Credit Suisse, this second warning shot from the banking system exacerbates fears of an economic slowdown, sending risky asset prices into a tailspin, including oil. An economic slowdown obviously means less oil consumption, explaining the excess weakness in crude prices mid-week. The increase in weekly inventories in the United States has further affected the morale of investors. In terms of prices, Northern European Brent and U.S. WTI prices fell to USD 72.5 and USD 66.5 per barrel respectively. In Europe, natural gas is stabilizing around 40 EUR/MWh for the Dutch benchmark.

Metals: The latest economic data from China, which takes the pulse of the country's activity in the first two months of the year, is rather encouraging. Industrial production and household consumption are picking up after a complicated 2022, completely locked in by Beijing's restrictive health policies. However, these elements are for the time being relegated to the background due to renewed fears of recession. Base metal prices lost ground this week. On the London Metal Exchange, a ton of copper is trading around USD 8,600, while aluminum is trading at 2,260. Gold, on the other hand, is making a comeback with a sharp rise of almost 3% over the past week. The barbarian relic therefore recorded its third consecutive week of increase and in a very nice way since its price went from 1815 to 2000 USD during this period.

Agricultural products: Negotiations on Ukrainian grain exports are back on the financial table. Moscow and Kiev do not agree on the duration of the extension of the agreement. It will be 60 days for Russia, while Ukraine is calling for 120 days of security, a duration in line with the two previous agreements. Uncertainty rises a notch and this is felt on the price of wheat in Chicago, which climbs to 705 cents per bushel.