One of the biggest issues currently is rising food prices. Food prices began rising in the second half of 2010 and hit record highs in January. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation has recently released its February data and the food price index hit fresh record (20 year) highs in both real and nominal terms, up 2.2% in the month. All of the component price indexes were higher in the month, except sugar, which fell slightly.
The FAO expects that a combination of higher global demand and lower supply will lead to a fall in global cereal stocks, underpinning the sharp lift in prices recorded over the past year. Over the past year the FAO estimates that export prices of major grains have lifted by 70%.
At face value, record grain prices don’t seem to be supported by the drop in coarse grain stocks. While expected to fall by almost 16% in 2010-11, stocks hit eight year highs last year. But given that demand for grains has been soaring, lifting to record highs, it is important to look at grain stocks as a proportion of consumption. In 2010-11, stocks are expected to fall to 18.6% of consumption, not far off the 30-year low of 16.6% in 2006/07. Consumption has risen 22% over the past decade versus an 18% lift in production.
Now for those in developed or advanced nations, tight grain supplies and record prices is a concern, but hardly a big deal. In the US, food represents just 7% of household spending. In the UK this proportion stands at 9% while food is 11% of household consumption in Australia.
But in developing nations, the issue of rising food prices is far more significant. Even in the second largest economy – China – food represents 33% of household spending. More broadly across Africa and Asia food holds between 30-50% of household consumption.
So it is understandable that record food prices have led to unrest across the developed world. And when you combine that with young populations that are more likely to agitate for change, widespread access to social media and autocratic governments, you have a volatile mix. According to the United Nations, around 60% of people in North Africa and the Middle East are under the age of 30 whereas the proportion is closer to 40% in Western Europe, the US and Australia. In Australia, 41.2% of the population is under 30 and the proportion is expected to keep falling for the next 40 years.
After two solid weeks of ‘top shelf’ economic indicators, the calendar thins out somewhat over the coming week. The highlight is probably the release of minutes from the last Reserve Bank Board meeting, but there are also some key lending figures that bear watching.
On Monday the Reserve Bank releases the January data on credit card lending and debit card transactions. Consumers still remain very cautious about going into debt with the average credit card balance just 1.9% higher than a year ago – below the rate of inflation.
On Tuesday the Reserve Bank releases minutes of the March 1 Board meeting while figures on car sales and lending finance are released the same day. Reserve Bank Assistant Governor Guy Debelle also delivers a speech but it is unlikely to provide direction for investors or traders. And the Board minutes will merely confirm that interest rate settings are on hold with members preferring to assess more information before deciding the next move.
Car sales were largely flat in February – we tip a 0.5% decline. And there will be keen interest as to whether the recovery in lending finance continued in January. However, if the weak housing finance figures are anything to go by, the recovery in lending probably stalled in the latest month.
On Wednesday the December quarter data on dwelling starts (commencements) is released. In the September quarter new starts slumped by 13.2% and the pronounced slide in building approvals since April and the recent drop in construction loans to two year lows points to softer activity ahead.
On Thursday, detailed labour force data is released with the latest estimates of employment by industry to be released. And the Reserve Bank releases its quarterly Bulletin on Thursday but there are no indications as yet what articles it will contain. Usually they cover a broad range of topics and provide fresh insights into Reserve Bank thinking on the broader economy.
Turning our attention overseas, a solid schedule of US economic data awaits investors over the coming week with inflation being the highlight. On Wednesday new figures on business inflation (producer prices) will be released while consumer price data is issued on Thursday. Investors have grown used to seeing core gauges of prices (excludes food and energy) rising by 0.1% each month, but it’s entirely possible that both the PPI and CPI core measures lifted 0.2% in February, indicating that inflation has bottomed.
The other event of note is the meeting of Federal Reserve policymakers (FOMC) on Tuesday. No change in rate settings or the amount of ‘quantitative easing’ is expected but the commentary should show that policymakers are more positive on prospects for the economy.
In terms of the other data releases, the Empire State manufacturing survey is released on Tuesday together with trade prices and January data on capital flows.
On Wednesday, figures on housing starts accompany the data on producer prices as well as the December quarter current account figures. Economists expect a correction in housing starts in February – down by 2.5% to a 580,000 annual rate after the out-sized 14.6% gain in January. Harsh winter weather has been playing havoc with construction but overall starts are still bumping along the bottom.
On Thursday, data on industrial production, the leading index and the Philadelphia Fed survey are released alongside the figures on consumer prices. A healthy 0.6% lift in production and solid 0.8% gain in the leading index will confirm that the economic recovery is in good shape.
In 2010, there was the ‘funk’ caused by European debt, now global sharemarkets are fearful of a geopolitical contagion in North Africa and the Middle East. The last geopolitical contagion affected Asia in 1997 – a financial crisis characterised by speculative attacks on currency markets. At the heart of the issue were concerns about the health of banking systems and debt levels especially in Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia.
This time around the issue is more about politics – with people across North Africa and the Middle East expressing their concern that their governments are not doing enough to deal with soaring food prices. Across the region around 60% of people are aged below 30 and they are agitating for change. The key concern with the Africa/Middle East crisis is that oil production could be disrupted. Just like the European Debt worries of 2010, it is fear that is causing sharemarket wobbles than actual fundamentals. The world is actually well supplied with oil and OPEC members say they are prepared to lift production quotas if necessary.
On commodity markets, gold and oil prices are dominating attention due to fears of a widening in the Middle East crisis. The risk for investors is that when the situation in Libya is resolved, then oil and gold prices may retreat just as quickly as they lifted. But there are also a few other commodities that bear watching at present as well. Wheat and corn prices have eased in recent days on the potential for better crops in the US and Eastern Europe. If production were to lift markedly, pushing down grain and food prices, disquiet in the Middle East would ease.
Craig James is chief economist at CommSec.
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