Goldman: Stronger dollar unlikely to derail bullish view on commodities

(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs said a stronger dollar is unlikely to derail its bullish view on commodities, which are likely to find support from physical shortages.

The dollar has been lifted by a stronger-than-expected U.S. economy, the world's largest, and that's a positive sign for global growth, the U.S. investment bank said.

The U.S. dollar index has lost more than 1 percent this week, but this follows months of strong demand over U.S.-China trade-related tensions, as investors bet the greenback would gain at the expense of riskier currencies.

"The risk aversion this summer created significant emerging market destocking, particularly in China, as consumers attempted to avoid a strong dollar and tariffs by liquidating inventories," Goldman said in a note dated on Thursday.

A stronger greenback makes the purchase of dollar-denominated international commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies, making buyers and users more likely to draw on any stored materials in preference to imports.

"This liquidation, however, has a physical limit with Chinese destocking having already created significant increases in physical (premiums) for oil and metals – a sign of physical shortages."

Going forward, oil had a strong fundamental outlook helped by U.S. demand growth, supply losses and disruptions, and still constrained U.S. shale output, Goldman said.

The bank said its near-term Brent crude oil price target remained at $80 a barrel.

The bank said it was moderating its bullish view for gold due to a sell-off in emerging markets, and it lowered its 12-month price forecast for the metal to $1,325 per ounce, down from $1,450 and ounce earlier.