10 of 13 key commodities dip in Samvat 2078 after hitting multi-year peak

Samvat 2078 dashed hopes for most industrial commodities, with prices of metals, crude oil and natural gas falling sharply. Many of these had seen a good build up in prices since mid- to late-2020s, and hit a multi-year peak in 2022. But, geopolitics, the Russia-Ukraine war, China slowdown and a strong US dollar have weighed on the prices in recent times.

Energy: Samvat 2078 was marked by volatility as far as the energy markets were concerned. The Russia-Ukraine war led to a supply disruption. This pushed up the price of crude oil as well as natural gas, fuelling inflation. For instance, Brent crude oil hit an intra-day high of $134.91 a barrel in March 2022; the highest since 2008.In the last three to four months of Samvat 2078, the price of crude oil declined on fears of a global recession. A supply cut by the Opec+ last month helped marginally in arresting a sharp decline in the price of crude. In Samvat 2078, crude showed a rise of 12.5 per cent versus a 94.3 per cent jump in Samvat 2077. Natural gas declined 12.5 per cent in Samvat 2078 versus a climb of 89.3 per cent in Samvat 2077 on weak demand trends.

Metals: The basket of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, too, saw sharp swings in Samvat 2078, led by geo-politics and its impact on production and distribution. Consumption also suffered setbacks. The London Metal Exchange Index, which tracks prices of metals traded on the exchange, fell 18.2 per cent in Samvat 2078 versus a rise of 37.5 per cent seen in Samvat 2077. The LMEX had hit a high of 5,505.70 on March 7 this year, its highest in at least 10 years. The price of iron ore, meanwhile, has fallen to nearly $88 a tonne in Samvat 2078 from $100.8 a tonne in Samvat 2077, a year-on-year drop of 12.9 per cent.  The price of hot-rolled steel fell by 25 per cent in Samvat 2078 versus a rise of 28.4 seen in Samvat 2077. And precious metals were down 6.3 per cent and 17.4 per cent each in Samvat 2078.