In the oil markets, there are several long-term supply and demand forces in play as well as some shorter-term response factors that make for a very difficult mix to analyze going forward. In summary, the article’s forward-looking analysis suggests that the era of relatively low prices could last for many years. That said, there are always small probability events, such as further conflict in the Middle East, which could lead to upside price risks, in which case economic conditions would definitely not be the predominant price driver, concludes the article.

In the “Research Council Corner” section, we are pleased to include articles from the following three distinguished members of the Research Council: Thomas Brady, Ph.D., of the Newmont Mining Corporation; Bluford Putnam, Ph.D., of the CME Group; and Marcelle Arak, Ph.D., of the University of Colorado Denver Business School. Dr. Arak’s article is co-authored with Sheila Tschinkel, Visiting Faculty in Economics at Emory University.

Dr. Ajeyo Banerjee welcomes readers to the inaugural issue of the Global Commodities Applied Research Digest (GCARD). This bi-annual publication is generously sponsored by the CME Group Foundation, and the purpose of this new digest is to highlight the key findings of applied research on topical commodity issues.