Metals Watch How will input costs affect aluminium prices? There are many drivers of the price of aluminium, including demand, supply and investor sentiment. However, in this Metals Watch, we are going to focus on the supply-side. In particular, we are going... 27th March 2017 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Is there really a shortage of zinc? The price of zinc has climbed higher since the start of 2017 on expectations that strong demand coupled with dwindling supply, following last year’s output cuts and mine closures, would lead to a... 24th March 2017 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update China’s metals imports sink China’s metals imports appear to have started the year on a soft note. Higher prices might have deterred purchases but we think that, in some cases, demand has also been sluggish. That said, we are... 23rd March 2017 · 1 min read
India Chart Pack Demonetisation impact wearing off The latest economic data for India suggest that the most acute impact from the government’s demonetisation measures has now passed. Both the manufacturing and services PMI readings for February came... 23rd March 2017 · 1 min read
Metals Data Response Global Steel Production (Feb.) World Steel Association (WSA) data showed a 4.1% y/y rise in global steel production in February, in large part driven by rapid expansion in China and India. 22nd March 2017 · 1 min read
Metals Data Response Global Aluminium Production (Feb.) According to the International Aluminium Institute (IAI), global primary aluminium output rose by 11.3% y/y last month, broadly unchanged from the 11.4% growth rate in January. 20th March 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Optimism prevails, for now It has been an eventful week in commodity markets but, for the most part, prices have risen. The US 25bp rate hike on Wednesday was widely anticipated so markets chose to focus on the fact that the... 17th March 2017 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update China Industrial Metals Demand Monitor (Jan./Feb.) China’s activity and investment data for the first two months of the year point to robust metals demand. However, we are wary that this may represent the high point of 2017, given signs of a steadily... 14th March 2017 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Soaring copper stocks reflect waning investor optimism The big story this month is an unexpected surge in LME copper stocks, which appears to be related to investors closing long positions in the futures market. At the same time, China’s exchange stocks... 10th March 2017 · 1 min read
Metals Watch A bright road ahead for cobalt…but beware of bumps While we have been positive on the prospects for cobalt prices for some time now, we think that the most recent rally is overdone. Admittedly, the market is tightening. But, in our view, the move-up... 8th March 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Update China’s commodity imports holding up well China’s commodity import volumes remained strong in February, despite generally higher prices. However, we are reluctant to read too much into the data given the usual seasonal distortions. 8th March 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Commodity prices brace themselves for Fed tightening The big news this week was the ratcheting up of expectations of an imminent rate hike by the Fed, which weighed on most commodity prices. That said, the prices of US grains and soybeans rose, on... 3rd March 2017 · 1 min read
Metals Chart Pack Metals prices consolidate at a higher level The prices of some industrial metals eased back in February, but the bigger picture is that they broadly held on to the gains made in January. A combination of optimism about demand, notably in the US... 3rd March 2017 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Peru: 2016 likely to be as good as it gets for the economy Peru’s economy is likely to weaken in 2017 as the one-off boost from a surge in copper production fades and a gradual tightening of policy weighs on the non-mining sector. After expanding by 3.9% in... 1st March 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Chart Pack Commodities hold on to their gains, despite uncertainty Most commodity prices traded in a narrow range last month, in the absence of clarity on developments in China (owing to the Lunar New Year Holiday) and on US policy direction. That said, the price of... 1st March 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Commodities still looking for direction Commodity prices were broadly unchanged this week, aside from a few notable exceptions. Cobalt was the star performer as concerns about supply and expectations of strong demand led to a surge in... 24th February 2017 · 1 min read
