(Bloomberg) -- Gold ambitions are top of mind as the world's biggest precious-metals producers wrap up the latest earnings season. North America's newest oil pipeline project is slated to start commercial production, redrawing the flow of crude around the world. And cocoa's price swings have been the most extreme since 1977.
Here are four notable charts — and a map — to consider in global commodity markets as the week gets underway.
Gold
With gold's relentless rally to record levels, it's a good time to mine the precious metal. The world's top producers are looking to boost output this year, with Newmont Corp. leading the charge as it targets 6.93 million ounces. The Denver-based company cemented its status as the No. 1 gold miner in November with its $15 billion acquisition of Newcrest Mining Ltd. Rival Barrick Gold Corp. will update investors on its plans Wednesday, when it reports first-quarter results.
Pipelines
Canada, home to the world's third-largest crude deposits, is on the verge of reshuffling global oil flows with its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion set to start commercial operation this week. The much-delayed expansion promises to vault Canada into a new role in global energy markets by transporting an additional 590,000 barrels a day from Alberta's landlocked oil sands to the Pacific Coast. The pipeline, which was bought by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government in 2018, is expected to redraw flows from California to China.
Cocoa
Cocoa keeps getting crazier, with the surge to a record of almost $12,000 a metric ton this month being accompanied by the most extreme price swings since the 1970s. The rally is raising the cost of maintaining positions and forcing traders to exit the market, draining liquidity and leaving cocoa vulnerable to bigger volatility. A key question is how high prices can go from here? Some traders who just attended an industry gathering in Brussels say $15,000 is possible this year, while others said predicting a top is too hard.
Batteries
The global energy-storage market is growing fast, with China and Asia Pacific as a whole leading installations in an industry considered critical to the transition away from fossil fuels. Energy-storage installs will expand at a compound annual growth rate of 21% to the end of the decade largely due to government mandates and subsidies, according to the latest forecast by BloombergNEF. The growth of storage technologies like lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries will help prop up clean but intermittent renewables such as wind and solar.
Diesel
Not all of the oil market is looking strong with crude prices in the $80s. Diesel has been struggling of late, with four-week average consumption in the US near the average seasonal low of the last five years, according to the Energy Information Administration's weekly data. While it's a time of year when such fuels generally weaken, persistent diesel softness could weigh on crude prices in time if it continues, with premiums of the fuel under pressure.
--With assistance from Doug Alexander, Michelle Ma and Robert Tuttle.
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