Commodity markets on tenterhooks as Delta outbreak rattles China

The tone in global commodity markets in the coming days will be set in large part by China’s battle to tame its fast-spreading delta coronavrius outbreak, with much at stake for oil to agriculture markets as the world’s top raw materials buyer struggles to get the flare-up under control.

 

Fears over the more infectious variant helped drive US crude below $70 a barrel this week, as investors track efforts by Beijing, and other Asian governments, to halt serious outbreaks. In China, sweeping lockdowns, traffic curbs, and other restrictions are already hitting fuel consumption.

 

A triptych of key reports on crude oil’s outlook, including one from OPEC, will offer more grist on demand risks. Elsewhere, watch gas markets after a 1,000 per cent price-surge. And on the earnings front, the diary includes numbers from No.2 gold miner Barrick Gold Corp, a swathe of European power utilities including Germany’s RWE AG, plus meat giants Tyson Foods Inc. and Brazil’s JBS SA.Delta Blues