Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Dependence on Australian iron ore set to decline In the short-run, China has no choice but to grit its teeth and keep buying Australian iron ore, even as bilateral ties continue to fray. But this dependence will diminish over time thanks to... 26th May 2021 · 6 mins read
Industrial Metals Update Fundamentals, not regulation, to drive iron ore lower While China’s announcement that it will crack down on speculation and market irregularities has taken some of the froth out of the iron ore market in recent weeks, we think the price of iron ore will... 26th May 2021 · 3 mins read
Industrial Metals Update China trade: how are our predictions stacking up? The latest China trade data show that ore imports are rebounding, though scrap imports remain subdued. Meanwhile, imports of refined copper have seen a renewed surge. Nevertheless, we continue to... 15th April 2021 · 2 mins read
Commodities Update China PMIs point to lower industrial metals prices Despite some conflicting messages from the official and unofficial PMI data out of China, both surveys continue to point to lower industrial metals prices. A pick-up in manufacturing activity and... 1st April 2021 · 2 mins read
Industrial Metals Update Tsingshan news to cap nickel price News on a potential breakthrough in the supply of nickel matte from Tsingshan has dampened nickel prices. Rather than a step-change in nickel market supply, we reckon that this development will simply... 17th March 2021 · 3 mins read
Commodities Update Rally in metals prices reminiscent of post-GFC Industrial metals prices have soared recently to multi-year highs. But we think the rally is unsustainable. In fact, it cements our view that slowing growth in China will drag prices lower by end-2021... 10th March 2021 · 3 mins read
Commodities Update Oil to miss out on the next commodity supercycle Slower demand growth and an abundance of supply will limit gains in oil prices over the long term, which we think will ultimately prevent oil from featuring in the next commodity supercycle. Join us... 4th March 2021 · 3 mins read
Industrial Metals Update Checking back in with our demand proxies Our in-house demand proxies offer further evidence that industrial metals prices are running ahead of the underlying fundamentals. This helps to explain the sharp drop in industrial metals prices... 4th March 2021 · 2 mins read
Commodities Update Softer China PMIs not a huge concern, for now China’s February PMI data were more subdued but still suggest that economic activity remains elevated, and the data elsewhere in Asia point to persistent strength in commodities demand in the coming... 1st March 2021 · 2 mins read
Industrial Metals Update Recent price rally to boost aluminium output this year Global aluminium production rose in January. And with LME and ShFE prices near multi-year highs, we expect further gains in production this year, which will ultimately weigh on prices. 23rd February 2021 · 3 mins read
Industrial Metals Update China’s metal imports: three trends to keep an eye on With the first batch of Chinese trade data for 2021 not due for another few weeks, this Update outlines the key developments to look out for. Overall, we expect imports of refined metal to fall back... 17th February 2021 · 4 mins read
Industrial Metals Update Tin’s rally to fizzle out by end-2021 Supply disruptions and strong electronics demand have lifted the tin price from its virus-induced lows. But we anticipate that a switch in consumer spending away from goods towards services once... 12th February 2021 · 3 mins read
Industrial Metals Update Demand to be primary driver of lower iron ore price Despite our relatively conservative forecast of supply growth, we still think that the price of iron ore will fall sharply this year owing to slower growth in China’s demand. 10th February 2021 · 3 mins read
Industrial Metals Update Key calls for metals in 2021 After staging a stellar recovery in 2020, there is considerable momentum in metals prices as we embark on the new year. That said, while prices may rise further in the near term, we think that they... 13th January 2021 · 3 mins read
Industrial Metals Update Iron ore market to swing into a surplus next year The price of iron ore has skyrocketed recently, to over $155 per tonne. However, we think that the price will decline in 2021 as demand in China weakens at a time of rising supply. 18th December 2020 · 2 mins read
Industrial Metals Update The upside risks to our 2021 price forecasts We think that industrial metals prices will ease back in 2021 primarily because we expect growth in China’s demand to slow. However, we acknowledge that there are some upside risks to our price... 17th December 2020 · 3 mins read