Structurally, we believe that the bull market in commodities is very
much intact. Industrialisation and urbanisation in emerging markets
imply a level of demand growth that will, generically, continue to
challenge suppliers for the foreseeable future.
• But 2011 was a particularly volatile period for commodity markets, and
a disconcerting time for investors. The "Arab Spring", the Japanese
earthquake disaster, the ballooning debt crisis in Europe, a faltering US
economic recovery, and the impact of credit tightening in China all
impacted commodity markets last year.