US Economics Weekly Rising trade deficit may embolden the protectionists Following the move this week to impose tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium, the widening in the trade deficit to a nine-year high in January is likely to have bolstered President Donald Trump’s... 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Trump’s tariffs become reality The big news this week was confirmation of President Trump’s tariffs on US steel and aluminium imports on national security grounds. This sent US steel prices even higher, but weighed on prices in... 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update What do US tariffs mean for steel & aluminium? President Trump’s tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium are likely to be a bigger deal for the price of US steel than aluminium. But US steel prices have already surged, which coupled with higher... 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Lead to remain under pressure Dwindling mine supply and, more recently, strong winter demand for car replacement batteries have given a boost to the price of lead. However, demand is weakening which, coupled with increasing... 8th March 2018 · 1 min read
Metals Chart Pack A mixed month for metals The prices of metals diverged last month. The prospect of a blanket tariff on US imports led to a jump in the price of US steel. At the same time, concerns about demand, notably from China, weighed on... 7th March 2018 · 1 min read
Metals Watch Nickel: no shortage in sight Strong growth in China’s stainless steel output and supply disruptions have buoyed nickel prices so far this year. In this Metals Watch, we take a look at the most recent developments in both demand... 6th March 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Trump’s tariffs target commodities It was generally a negative week for commodity prices. Oil prices tumbled and precious metals prices were buffeted by Jerome Powell’s testimony, which all but ensured a rate hike this month. China’s... 2nd March 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Update What will US tariffs mean for steel prices? President Trump’s announcement of tariffs on steel and aluminium imports was expected. But what is perhaps more surprising is that the tariffs are particularly punitive and threaten to ignite... 2nd March 2018 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update How big a deal are the US tariffs? Steel and aluminium account for about 2% of world trade, so the direct impact on the global economy of the tariffs President Trump announced yesterday would be minimal. But the fact that they are... 2nd March 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Chart Pack Agriculturals bucked the trend Commodity prices fell sharply in the wake of the sell-off in global equity markets in late-January, but have recovered much of the lost ground. The key sub-sectors of the S&P GSCI are now close to... 1st March 2018 · 1 min read
Metals Data Response Global Steel Production (Jan.) World Steel Association (WSA) data showed a 0.8% y/y increase in global steel production in January led by higher output in the EU, India and Turkey. US production remained weak, which is one reason... 26th February 2018 · 1 min read
Metals Data Response Global Aluminium Production (Jan.) Global aluminium output continued to grow strongly in January, led by increases in China and other Asian countries. With no apparent shortage of supply, we expect prices to ease back in 2018. 26th February 2018 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Rising supply should boost stocks in 2018 Stocks of copper and aluminium have risen strongly since the start of 2018, but inventories of the other base metals have fallen. Supply was tight in the smaller markets last year, but it is now... 23rd February 2018 · 1 min read
Energy Watch Is the rally in coal prices burning out? Coal prices have fallen back a little since the start of this year as temperatures increased and supply picked up, but they remain high. This Energy Watch examines the outlook for demand and supply... 23rd February 2018 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Investors become less positive on metals There are early signs that investor sentiment in the metals markets is deteriorating, although more so for industrial metals than precious. Some of the technical indicators that we monitor have... 22nd February 2018 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update US tariffs on steel and aluminium appear inevitable The price of US steel has already benefited from the prospect of heightened protectionism in the US. Indeed, prices could actually fall back if President Trump decides to moderate his actions to... 19th February 2018 · 1 min read
