Commodities Update China’s PMIs point to soft commodity demand Industrial metals prices rose following the release of the latest survey data on China’s manufacturing sector. But the average of the headline PMIs continued to decline, as did the average of the... 30th September 2022 · 2 mins read
Commodities Update The boost from China reopening is now behind us China’s PMIs fell in July, weighed down by soft export orders. However, we think that China’s economy troughed in H1 2022, and that a modest pick-up in H2 should give some support to commodities... 1st August 2022 · 2 mins read
Industrial Metals Update What to make of the price slump As metals prices soared early in the year, we cautioned that they would end the year lower owing to soft demand growth. Prices have since plunged. Now, we think they may have a little further to fall... 15th July 2022 · 4 mins read
Commodities Update Rebound in China’s PMIs likely to be a one-off We think that the recovery in China’s PMIs in June was driven by the lifting of virus-related restrictions rather than an improvement in underlying economic conditions. Accordingly, we think that... 1st July 2022 · 2 mins read
Latin America Economics Update The Codelco strike threat, Chile and the copper price A threatened strike at Chile’s copper giant, Codelco, could knock as much as 0.3%-pts off quarterly GDP growth for every week that workers are on strike and worsen the country’s balance of payments... 21st June 2022 · 3 mins read
Industrial Metals Update Chinese refined output will only plug some of the gap Robust Chinese refined metal output, alongside subdued domestic demand, has combined with constrained refined output elsewhere to provide greater export opportunities for China. But there are limits... 16th June 2022 · 3 mins read
Industrial Metals Update Weaker demand to drag on EU steel prices Softer demand for steel in Europe has dragged prices lower recently, despite production in the region being constrained by high production costs. We expect prices to fall a little further to €900 per... 9th June 2022 · 2 mins read
Industrial Metals Update China’s steel price to fall, despite reduced output We expect China’s steel output to fall a little this year in line with government objectives. But we think that subdued demand, notably from the steel-intensive construction sector, will lead to lower... 27th May 2022 · 3 mins read
Industrial Metals Update Weaker demand to enable stocks to build Exchange stocks of base metals have fallen so far this year as high power costs have choked the supply of refined metals. Yet, we expect stocks to build as a weaker economic outlook for key metal... 13th May 2022 · 4 mins read
Industrial Metals Update Weaker electronics demand will weigh on tin We expect weaker electronics demand and a recovery in supply from South-East Asia to weigh on the tin price, dragging it lower by end-year to $34,000 per tonne from around $41,000 currently. 6th May 2022 · 2 mins read
Industrial Metals Update China’s iron ore consumption peaked Iron ore prices have rocketed by close to 30% since the start of 2022 on supply fears. Yet, we expect cooler economic activity in China to weigh on iron ore demand, causing prices to fall by end-year. 21st April 2022 · 2 mins read
Commodities Update China commodity imports pointing to weaker demand The latest trade data out of China suggest that recent restrictions imposed to contain the surge in new cases of COVID-19 are hitting commodity demand hard. And we think it will remain weak in the... 13th April 2022 · 2 mins read
Industrial Metals Update Supply fears to give way to weaker demand for copper Supply fears stemming from the war in Ukraine and risks to mine output in Latin America have pushed up the copper price. But we expect a recovery in supply and ongoing weakness in Chinese demand to... 12th April 2022 · 3 mins read
Commodities Update China demand will still be key in driving metal prices The war in Ukraine and high energy prices will keep industrial metal prices elevated for now. But once supply fears ease, the weakness in China’s demand will be exposed and will weigh on prices. 1st April 2022 · 3 mins read
Commodities Overview High volatility to persist while war rages on Commodity prices are as volatile as they’ve ever been. We don’t think volatility will ease until the war in Ukraine ends, because only then will we know the true extent of the Russia-related supply... 31st March 2022 · 2 mins read
Commodities Overview Lessons from the 1970s for commodity markets The experience of the 1970s suggests that the ongoing war in Ukraine and its effects on commodity prices will reshape commodity markets for years to come. Most immediately, elevated prices are likely... 29th March 2022 · 3 mins read