HWWI commodity price index driven by gas price
- HWWI overall index rose by 1.8% (US dollar basis)
- Natural gas prices increased by 29.8%
- Crude oil prices fell by 10.6%
- Industrial raw material prices fell by 11.6%
(Hamburg, August 12, 2022) The HWWI commodity price index rose by an average of 1.8% in July compared with the previous month. While the index for energy commodities rose by 3.9% in July, the index for industrial commodities fell by 11.6% and the index for food and beverages by 9.5%. The high weighting of energy commodities in the overall index led to the further increase of the overall index, which is now 63% higher than in July 2021. The high price level of commodities is influenced by the ongoing war in Ukraine. However, the weaker economic outlook is causing demand for crude oil and industrial raw materials to fall, which is now also reflected in prices.
Index for energy raw materials rises again
The price of crude oil fell by 10.6% in July compared with the previous month. Compared to July 2021, the price has increased by 40.5%.
Coal prices continued to rise 3.6% in July, up 179.3% from July 2021.
The price of gas made a significant jump in July. It increased by 29.8% compared to June and was 137.2% higher than in July 2021.
Overall, the energy commodities subindex rose by 3.9% (euro basis: 7.9%) to 364.2 points (euro basis: 410.1 points).
Industrial Commodities Index: Further easing of the price level
The sub-index for industrial raw materials, which is subdivided into the index for agricultural raw materials, the index for nonferrous metals and the index for iron ore and steel scrap, fell by 11.6% in July compared with the previous month, having already fallen by 8.2% in May and 9% in June. The easing in industrial raw material prices is thus continuing. The index for industrial raw materials is now 17.1% lower than a year earlier.
Overall, the index for industrial raw materials fell by an average of 11.6% for the month (euro basis: -8.2%) to 126.1 points (euro basis: 141.8 points).
Index for food, beverages and tobacco continues to decline slightly
Like the subindex for industrial raw materials, the index for food, beverages and tobacco continued to decline in July. It fell by 9.5%, following a 3.2% month-on-month decline in June. The value was thus 16.8% higher than the corresponding year-earlier figure. Prices for cereals fell most sharply (-14.7%). Prices for oilseeds fell by 6.1% and, for the first time this year, prices for luxury foodstuffs also declined (-4.6 compared with the previous month).
Overall, the index for food, beverages and tobacco fell by an average of 9.5% for the month (euro basis: -6.1%) and stood at 159.7 points (euro basis: 179.3 points).
Source: www.hwwi.org