Preparing to steel the show: Commodities poised to play a vital role in the defence against inflation

Deep Dive into commodities

There is a buzz around commodity markets once again. While this could be seen as a natural response to economic recovery and, potentially, the revival of inflation, there is more behind this new enthusiasm than global growth, with certain commodities poised to play a vital role in the new economy that emerges from the pandemic.

This backdrop of global growth is likely to be supportive for commodities. In particular, China drove the last commodities super-cycle of the 2000s, and its robust recovery is driving demand once again. The secret weapon? Commodities a useful addition to a multi-asset fund's armoury For example, analysts at S&P Global Platts said China's anticipated economic growth in 2021 will drive oil demand higher. It estimated that China's oil consumption growth will be around half the rate of the country's GDP growth. Inflation expectations are also moving higher, driven by vast fiscal and mo...