Market Monitor September 2024

06 Sep 2024

With 2024 likely to rank among the warmest years on record, weather continued to dominate commodity market news in recent weeks, in both positive and negative ways. While the forecast for 2024 global maize output was trimmed as heat constrained yields in parts of the European Union, Mexico and Ukraine, global soybean production forecast was lifted on account of favourable weather in the United States. Crossings in the Panama Canal are approaching their usual levels, while shipping disruptions in the Red Sea continue. The current edition broadens the coverage of developments in the fertilizer markets and introduces new indicators. Although easing from their peaks, fertilizer cost indices and fertilizer crop price ratios remained above their 2019 average in almost all regions. A page on vegetable oils was also added, covering main market developments.