Commodity hedging on the rise as elevated prices persist

The disconnect between global economic growth and commodity prices is focusing treasurers’ minds on hedging exposures to everything from cocoa to cobalt.

Earlier this month, the World Bank published a paper pointing out that although global economic growth in 2024/25 is expected to be nearly half a percentage point lower than the average in the half decade before the Covid pandemic, average commodity prices are likely to remain close to 40% above 2015 to 2019 levels for energy and base metals, and 30% higher for food.

Various factors account for this deviation, ranging from oil-supply constraints and high demand from China to growth in metals-intensive investment in clean-energy technologies and heightened geopolitical tensions.

Thanks for your interest in Euromoney!
To unlock this article: