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Global commodity prices declined by almost 25 percent in 2023 relative to 2022, the sharpest drop since the pandemic, the World Bank has said.
The Bank said in its latest commodity market outlook report that it expected commodity prices to stabilize in 2025.
As of December 4 last year, the Bank said energy prices decreased by 8.2 percent in November led by coal (-12.9pct) and oil (-8.7pct).
Non-energy prices were up by 1.7percent. Food prices inched up 0.9 percent, beverages gained 7.0 percent, and raw materials recorded a little change.
Over the same period toom the Bank said the price of fertilizer dropped 2.9 percent. Metal prices rose by 2.7 percent, led by iron ore (+10.4 pct) and Zinc (+5.3 pct). Precious metals climbed by 3.7 percent.
“The start of the conflict in the Middle East in early October led to an initial uptick in prices, though the impact so far has been small. Prices of most commodities remain above their 2015-19 average,” the Bank said.
It projected oil prices to average 90 USD per barrel in the current quarter before declining to an average of 81 USD per barrel this year as global economic growth slows and overall commodity prices are projected to fall 4.1 percent this year.
Prices of agricultural commodities are expected to decline next year as supplies rise, and prices of base metals are also projected to drop 5 percent in 2024.
