Marché des matières premières : vers une nouvelle ère ?

Commodities are at the very heart of economic activity. From oil to wheat, from aluminum to coffee or rubber, we are all, in one way or another and to varying degrees, dependent on commodities. Different in terms of their physical properties but governed by common economic mechanisms, traded on global and oligopolistic markets, subject to intense competitive pressures and speculative bets, often marked by highly volatile prices, objects of geopolitical rivalries or cooperatives stra ...

The prices of metals -most notably industrial metals- have risen significantly since January 2016, in contrast with 2014 and 2015, which were difficult years. This trend is due to substantial improvements in market fundamentals, both for demand and supply. However, the importance of speculative movements underlying this sharp rise in prices cannot be minimized or omitted. In the short term, it poses the risk of a correction linked to profit taking and a return to greater rationality ...

Les cours des métaux, industriels notamment, se sont inscrits dans un mouvement haussier particulièrement marqué depuis janvier 2016 qui tranche avec les années difficiles de 2014 et 2015. À l’origine de cette dynamique : une sensible amélioration des fondamentaux du marché, tant du côté de la demande que de l’offre. L’importance des mouvements spéculatifs qui sous-tendent cette forte remontée des cours ne peut cependant être oubliée voire minimisée. Elle pose à court terme le risqu ...

Since inception nearly a century ago, corporations and industries have coevolved with Morocco’s legacy of peace and prosperity. With a growing pressure on agricultural production and natural resources, exacerbated with climate change, there is urgency to define sustainable strategies that would reassure corporations and industries for longterm prosperity and for a healthy economy. Studies have highlighted the perilous state of our natural environment, the exhaustion of our aquifers, ...

Dealing with the dynamics of commodity prices requires the characterization of three phenomena to which they are subject: (very) long-term trends, medium / long-term cycles and short-term variability / volatility (Jacks, 2013). As they strongly infuence the economies of exporting countries, each of these phenomena calls for the implementation of specifc strategies, particularly in terms of public policies. Thus, whereas volatility raises the question of availability of hedging tools ...

Traiter de la dynamique du prix des matières premières impose de caractériser trois phénomènes auxquels ils sont soumis : les tendances de (très) long terme, les cycles de moyen/long terme et la variabilité/volatilité à court terme (Jacks, 2013). Influençant fortement les économies des pays exportateurs, chacun d’entre eux appelle à la mise en œuvre de stratégies spécifiques, notamment en termes de politiques publiques. Ainsi, alors que la volatilité interroge sur la disponibilité d ...

This paper discusses the expanding links between China, Central Asia and Russia over the past quarter a century, most recently via the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), in geopolitics and trade/ investment, as well connections in oil, gas and electricity. These links that continue to expand are likely to change the current economic, political and energy landscape beyond recognition. They are forging mutual economics dependencies and reducing security risks. The paper also assesses wh ...

Understanding the commodity markets development and dynamics is of first-order importance for the global economy, since they seem to impact the determination of a significant portion of incomes and welfare of both commodity-consuming and commodity-producing nations. Indeed, for many economies, especially developing countries, commodities remain an important source of export earnings, and commodity price volatility has a major impact on their overall macroeconomic performance. Conseq ...

Renewable energy technologies are projected to have substantial growth in the coming decades, especially given the environmental, social and economic drivers observed globally. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region encloses abundant alternative energy sources such as solar, wind and hydropower. The concern is more whether the Arab region will be able to respond to and manage the growth opportunities in this emerging sector. This Policy Brief explores opportunities and chall ...