Dear Subscriber,

The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell 2% to 53.7 in September, due to weak consumer demand. This was further exacerbated by bureaucratic processes at ports, resulting in delays in delivery time. The decline in the PMI reading suggests that Q3 GDP growth data could be weaker than expected.

Ivory Coast has raised its farmgate price of cocoa to $1,340 per tonne for the 2018/19 season, while Ghana maintained its price at $1,530 per tonne. This is significantly below Nigeria’s price floor of $2,000 per tonne. The substantial price differential between West Africa’s largest cocoa producers could incentivize cross border smuggling of cocoa beans.

The attached slides summarize the events that took place in the domestic and global commodity markets this week.

Enjoy your read!