China's rising economy won't float all commodities equally

The impact of China's economic re-opening after ending its strict zero-COVID policy on commodity prices is a reminder that sentiment and physical trading realities are often out of sync.

Commodities from iron ore to crude oil to copper rallied after Beijing's surprise abandonment of the zero-COVID policy late last year, but have since eased back.

While there are other factors driving commodity prices, it's also the case that the positive market sentiment created by expectations of a rebound in the world's second-largest economy ran ahead of actual commodity demand.