Macquarie hikes iron-ore price forecasts for 2016 and 2017

Commodity prices saw moderate selling pressure on Wednesday ahead of the release of the latest set of Fed minutes and after they were published.

Prices for industrial metals and soft commodities were under the cosh even as front month Brent crude futures continued to push higher.

Three-month copper futures on the LME finished the session down by 0.5% to $4,618 per metric tonne, alongside drops of 0.5% and 1.1% for similarly-dated zinc and nickel futures.

The Dalian Commodities Exchange's most-traded iron ore contract lost 0.7% to stand at 372 yuan ($56.92), while rebar futures finished the day lower by 1% to 2,055 yuan a tonne.

The Steel Index reported that iron ore for immediate delivery to China's Tianjin port gained 3.5% to $55.70 a tonne on Tuesday.

Macquarie boosted its forecast for the price of iron ore in 2017 on the back of burgeoning steel demand in the People's Republic of China and deferrals in supplies, but cut those for 2018 and 2019.

In a research note dated 16 May, the broker hiked its 2017 iron ore price forecast by 11.1% to $50 per metric tonne and for 2016 by 1.5%.

Furthermore, 'stability' would be key in the Asian giant going forward, the Australian broker said, ahead of next year's political changes in Beijing, when half of the current Politburo's mandarins were set to step down.

Over on the Chicago Board of Trade, corn futures were the outlier, rising by 0.6% to $3.995 per bushel, while oats futures gave back 0.4% to $4.8 per bushel.

Brent crude futures for next month delivery were up by 0.8% to $49.03 per barrel as of 17:35 on the ICE.

Bloomberg's commodity index was 0.4% lower to 85.40 by 20:50 BST.