London, 20 December 2010

The improvement in the near term prospects for the global economy has prompted Capital Economics to raise their end- 2011 price forecasts for industrial commodities. However, the new forecasts of $75 per barrel for oil and $7,500 per metric tonne for copper remain (well) below consensus.

What's more, Capital Economics continue to expect these prices to settle at lower levels ($60 and $6,000 respectively) from 2012 onwards as demand from rapidly developing economies ultimately disappoints. In contrast, they are raising their forecasts for gold, to $1,600 per oz by end-2011 and $2,000 by end-2012, in anticipation of fresh shocks to the global financial system.

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