Monthly commodity prices update for April 2026

In April 2026, European PricePedia commodity prices in euros continued to rise, posting a +1.1% month-on-month increase after the surge of more than 15 percentage points recorded in the previous month, driven by the energy shock triggered by the conflict in the Persian Gulf. Price dynamics remain strongly influenced by the evolution of the conflict, whose resolution timeline is still uncertain two months after its outbreak.

The chart below shows euro-denominated raw material price trends in the European market across the main PricePedia aggregates, with January 2022 set as the base (=100):

• Commodity^[1],
• Industrials^[2],
• Energy,
• Food.

Among the main macro-categories, energy commodities in April remained at the same levels reached in March 2026, when the economic consequences of the conflict had driven a surge of more than 36 percentage points month-on-month.
As reported in the weekly update on financial commodities, oil and natural gas prices remain under pressure, with oil steadily above 100 dollars per barrel and natural gas hovering around 45 euros per MWh.

Looking at non-energy commodities, food commodities rose by +1.1% in April, in line with the overall commodity index. Core industrial commodities, however, show an acceleration in price dynamics, increasing by more than +2.5% after +1.3% in March.
After a relatively limited initial impact, the effects of the energy shock continued to spread along the various industrial supply chains in April.

Price dynamics of industrial raw materials since the start of the conflict

To assess the overall impact recorded in the first two months since the start of the conflict in the Persian Gulf on euro-denominated prices of industrial commodities, the following chart shows the percentage changes observed between February and April 2026.

The hierarchy of transmission of the energy shock described in the March update is confirmed: sectors most closely linked to the petrochemical and natural gas value chain—such as fertilizers (Specialty Chemicals), hydrocarbons and polyols (Organic Chemicals), and thermoplastic polymers (Plastics and Elastomers)—show the largest increases since the start of the conflict, in the range of 10–20%.
All other commodities recorded more moderate increases, averaging around +4%. The only exception is Pharmaceutical Chemicals, which declined by -1.4% since the beginning of the conflict.