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World Bank warns of growing geopolitical commodity shocks, beyond oil crisis

Increasing geopolitical risk, despite the market resilience displayed so far, is weakening the global order

    • The surge in commodity prices is driven in part by record-high prices for base metals, particularly aluminium.
    • The surge in commodity prices is driven in part by record-high prices for base metals, particularly aluminium. PHOTO: REUTERS
    Published Thu, May 7, 2026 · 12:00 PM

    AFTER Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the World Bank warned that the biggest commodities shock since the 1970s had hit. Now only four years later, the war in the Middle East represents a new “historic shock”, underpinned by sustained geopolitical fragility.

    This high geostrategic volatility has also been highlighted by the International Monetary Fund, which pointed to how much such uncertainty has grown in recent years.

    The Commodities Market Outlook published by the World Bank on Apr 28 mentions the word “geopolitical” around 200 times, and even has a special section that dives into these challenges for the global economy.