Commodities Weekly The losing streak continues It has been a poor week for most commodity prices. The Fed’s decision to hike interest rates on Wednesday weighed on the prices of gold and industrial metals. Oil prices continued to drop, partly due... 16th June 2017 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update China Industrial Metals Demand Monitor (May) China’s activity data were broadly stable in May, but a slowdown in construction starts and growth in investment do not bode well for future metals demand. 15th June 2017 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Tightness in tin likely to ease The likelihood that China will start exporting refined tin in much larger quantities should ease the relatively tight supply picture outside China. As such, we have revised down our end-2017 price... 13th June 2017 · 1 min read
Metals Data Response South Africa’s Mine Production (Apr.) PGM output had a strong start to the year but the latest figures suggest that it has already started to wane. We expect production to fall in the remainder of the year as the platinum price treads... 8th June 2017 · 1 min read
Metals Chart Pack Precious metals outperform The prices of precious metals benefitted from a weaker US dollar and heightened safe-haven demand in May. In addition, markets are pricing in only a limited Fed tightening over the next eighteen... 6th June 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly A case of the jitters hits commodity markets Oil prices have continued to fall on fears that the OPEC supply cuts will not be sufficient to clear the excess in the market. In addition, a weak May unofficial PMI reading out of China on Thursday... 2nd June 2017 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Are we too bearish on the prospects for lead prices? Despite the recent rally in prices, we remain bearish on the long-term prospects for lead usage. While increased demand for start-stop systems in cars could provide some support to prices over the... 1st June 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Mixed messages from China’s PMIs The official and unofficial May manufacturing PMIs for China told somewhat different stories. However, we are inclined to put more weight on the unofficial PMI, which fell for the third successive... 1st June 2017 · 1 min read
Metals Watch As good as it gets for Chinese steel Chinese steel prices have been on a roller-coaster since the start of this year, as investor sentiment on the outlook for demand waxed and waned. In this Metals Watch, we take an in-depth look at the... 30th May 2017 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Metals prices could fall sharply as sentiment turns Sentiment towards metals has deteriorated somewhat since the start of 2017. We had warned that this could happen as the large investor inflows into metals markets last year were mostly premised on... 24th May 2017 · 1 min read
Metals Data Response Global Steel Production (Apr.) World Steel Association (WSA) data showed a 5% y/y rise in global steel production in April, down from 5.7% in the first quarter. Nonetheless, output was growing strongly in all the large producing... 23rd May 2017 · 1 min read
Metals Data Response Global Aluminium Production (Apr.) According to the International Aluminium Institute (IAI), global primary aluminium output rose by 6.4% y/y last month, up from 4.3% y/y in March. However, in month-on-month terms, production fell in... 22nd May 2017 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Higher stocks reflect the slowdown in China’s activity Stocks generally rose over the last month, which we think is consistent with broader macroeconomic data showing a slowdown in China’s activity in April and the recent weakness in most metals prices. 19th May 2017 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update China Industrial Metals Demand Monitor (Apr.) China’s activity and investment data for April showed clear signs of a slowdown. Given steadily tightening monetary conditions and less fiscal stimulus, we expect activity to slow further which will... 18th May 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Chart Pack A bumpy ride for commodities The prices of many commodities had a volatile month, led by the price of oil which is being buffeted by a lack of clarity on future supply. Industrial metals prices fell sharply on renewed concerns... 2nd May 2017 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update China’s metals imports likely to remain subdued China’s trade data for March depict a relatively weak picture for metals demand. While in some cases imports picked up in the first quarter, we think that optimism about demand rather than strong... 25th April 2017 · 1 min read
