Research Analyst

About the Role

Our client is a leading multinational organization engaged in global commodity trading and international commerce, with an established presence across multiple markets and geographies. Its business focuses on the physical movement and trading of commodities, connecting producers, suppliers and end-users across international supply chains.

The organization is seeking a commercially minded Research Analyst – Trading Desk Support to support its physical trading business through in-depth market research, fundamental analysis and data-driven insights. The role will focus on understanding global commodity market dynamics, tracking physical supply-demand fundamentals and evaluating price movements, trade flows and commercial opportunities to support informed trading decisions.

Key Responsibilities

• Market Research & Intelligence: Analyze global commodity markets, including production, consumption, inventory levels, supply-demand balances and international physical trade flows.
• Market Monitoring: Track macroeconomic developments, geopolitical events, government policies, regulatory changes, freight rates and other factors affecting physical commodity availability, pricing and trade economics.
• Price Analysis & Forecasting: Assess historical and current price trends, regional price differentials, market spreads, basis movements and arbitrage opportunities relevant to physical commodity trading.
• Reporting & Insights: Prepare daily, weekly and monthly market updates, research reports, dashboards and presentations highlighting market developments, emerging risks and potential trading opportunities.
• Analytical Modelling: Build and maintain commodity market models, databases and analytical tools to evaluate supply-demand scenarios, forecast price movements and assess physical trading economics.
• Trading Desk Support: Work closely with physical traders and commercial teams to provide market intelligence and analytical inputs for sourcing, procurement, sales and trading decisions, including pre-trade assessments and post-trade performance reviews.
• Trade Flow & Commercial Analysis: Evaluate regional supply-demand imbalances, import-export patterns, logistics constraints, freight costs and destination-market dynamics to identify potential sourcing and trading opportunities.
• External Market Intelligence: Use industry publications, market data platforms, research reports and relevant industry contacts to strengthen market understanding and develop independent views on commodity markets.
• Strategic Market Outlook: Contribute to medium- and long-term commodity outlooks, scenario analysis and strategic assessments to support the organization's physical trading activities and business planning.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Economics, Finance, Engineering, Statistics or a related discipline. A postgraduate qualification in a relevant field would be an advantage.
• 3–7 years of relevant experience in commodity research, market intelligence, physical commodity trading, trading analytics or related commercial research.
• Good understanding of physical commodity markets, international trade flows, supply-demand fundamentals and the factors influencing commodity prices.
• Experience in fundamental research, commodity balance analysis, price forecasting and market modelling.
• Familiarity with regional price differentials, spreads, basis analysis, arbitrage concepts and hedging principles in the context of physical trading.
• Understanding of international sourcing, procurement, logistics, freight economics and import-export dynamics would be beneficial.
• Strong proficiency in MS Excel and data analysis; experience with Power BI, Python or other analytical tools would be an advantage.
• Strong analytical, communication and presentation skills, with the ability to convert market information into actionable commercial insights.