Commodity prices such as energy and metals will "fall sharply" in 2019 and are expected to continue to fall in 2020, the world bank said in a report released on Tuesday, affected by the decline in demand caused by weak global economic growth prospects.
In the latest commodity market outlook report released on the same day, the World Bank predicted that the average energy price in 2019, including crude oil, natural gas and coal, would fall by nearly 15% compared with 2018, and continue to fall in 2020. The report said the average price of crude oil in 2019 is expected to be $60 per barrel, and will drop to $58 per barrel by 2020, which is $6 and $7 lower than the bank's April forecast, respectively.
According to the report, the average price of metals including iron ore, copper, zinc, etc. will fall by 5% in 2019, while metal prices will continue to decline in 2020 as the slowdown in global demand affects the commodity market. The report points out that the price of precious metals has risen sharply this year and is expected to rise further next year due to increased global economic uncertainty and loose monetary policy.
In addition, the report predicts that the price of agricultural products will fall in 2019 and remain stable in 2020.
