Uncertain politics, policy development permeates commodities price outlook

A common factor in the outlook for most commodities included in The Bank of Nova Scotia Commodity Price Index is the outsized near-term importance of highly uncertain politics and policy, the group’s commodity economist Rory Johnston said in a special report of the Commodity Price Index this week. Many of these uncertainties relate to policy out of Beijing, which has the unique ability to sway the fate of virtually every material, but Indonesian, Filipino, Chilean, Indian, and American policies are all affecting commodity prices in one way or another.