Melancholy to persist this year

After some fleeting optimism on the back of an apparent easing in US-China trade tensions in September, the recent run of weak US survey data saw demand concerns return to the fore. We think that global economic growth will slow further over the coming months and this, coupled with ailing investor sentiment, will continue to keep a lid on industrial metals prices this year. In contrast, subdued risk appetite should ensure that the prices of precious metals remain elevated.