WASHINGTON, April 27 — Global commodity prices are likely to see the sharpest slump this year since the beginning of the pandemic, but food prices will still remain near record highs, reported Sputnik quoting the World Bank on Thursday.
“Global commodity prices are expected to decline this year at the fastest clip since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, clouding the growth prospects of almost two-thirds of developing economies that depend on commodity exports,” the World Bank said in a statement that accompanies its latest Commodity Markets Outlook report.
Commodity prices are projected to drop by 21 per cent in 2023 year-on-year, the report said. The price of Brent crude oil is expected to average US$84 a barrel, down 16% from last year’s average.
European and US natural-gas prices are expected to halve between 2022 and 2023, with coal prices set to decrease 42 per cent in 2023, the World Bank added.
Food prices are forecast to drop by 8 per cent this year, but will remain at the second-highest level since 1975.
Fertiliser prices are also forecast to decrease by 37 per cent in 2023, the biggest annual drop since 1974, while still hovering near their recent high last seen during the 2008-2009 crisis.
Despite the drops, prices of all major commodity groups will remain well above their 2015-2019 average levels, the World Bank noted.
