Fed rate hike likely to trigger next leg of commodity losses
The Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington September 16 2015. Commodity markets should brace for another assault on prices if, as is widely expected, the U.S. Federal Reserve tightens policy in December and the dollar strengthens further. One reason is production, much of it in non-dollar countries such as Chile and Russia, where a higher dollar means rising revenues in pesos and rubles respectively. It also means lower wage costs, paid in local currencies, allowing non-U.S. producers to cope with falling prices. Another is slower growth in emerging markets where a lot of debt is denominated in dollars and is due to be refinanced over the next two to three years, fund managers say. Higher borrowing costs may mean slowing economies in emerging markets, a major source of commodity demand growth in recent years. Throw into the mix plans by top consumer China to shift its economy towards consumer-led growth […]