Industrial Metals Update Another month of solid Chinese metals imports Imports of many industrial metals had surged in December, so somewhat slower growth in January came as no surprise. However, the bigger picture is that China’s imports of metal have remained strong... 22nd February 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Oil prices may finally be finding a floor Oil prices have ebbed and flowed in the past week on hopes that at least some OPEC members will be able to agree a deal with Russia to freeze output. Admittedly, the recent talks have left many... 19th February 2016 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Cautiously positive on lead demand Lead usage has contracted for two consecutive years. However, some of the downturn can be attributed to destocking, as well as a decline in China’s e-bike production. As these trends run their course... 18th February 2016 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Is REE demand from Europe waning? Although the latest data show that rare earth metal import growth has been slowing in the European Union (EU), this is largely due to base effects. Meanwhile, a number of indicators suggest EU rare... 17th February 2016 · 1 min read
Metals Focus When will metals shine again? The combination of falling supply and stronger demand should set the scene for a recovery in the prices of many industrial metals this year. Meanwhile, although gold will struggle to make further... 17th February 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Weaker dollar supports commodity prices It has been a quiet few weeks for news from China, as disruption associated with the Lunar New Year holiday has made it difficult to determine exactly how the economy has fared so far this year... 16th February 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Resilience of industrial commodity prices reassuring Given the negativity in global equity markets, the relative stability of industrial commodity prices (especially metals) over the last few weeks has been reassuring. Even Brent crude, while slipping... 12th February 2016 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update What, if anything, can copper price arbitrage activity tell us? The recent strength in China’s copper imports has been dismissed by many commentators as a response to an import arbitrage opportunity, rather than as a sign of a pick-up in demand. While the... 11th February 2016 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Low stocks are offering some support to prices Exchange stocks of lead and tin are now at very low levels and total stocks of most metals have fallen since the start of the year. Of course, there may well be unreported stocks but, at face value... 9th February 2016 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update China’s steel slowdown to keep iron ore prices under pressure Iron ore prices have now recovered from December’s lows, close to our end-year forecast. We expect demand from China’s steel sector to disappoint this year, so wouldn’t be surprised to see prices dip... 8th February 2016 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Tin to outperform other base metals this year Tin usage should pick up in 2016, led by a recovery in the global electronics sector. Given constrained supply, the price of tin could rally strongly. 5th February 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Commodity prices rally on dollar weakness A visitor from Mars might have been confused by the responses of commodity markets to US economic data in the past few days. Prices jumped in dollar terms after the publication on Wednesday of a weak... 5th February 2016 · 1 min read
Metals Chart Pack Some respite for prices in late January The prices of industrial metals fell further in early January, unsettled by a renewed collapse in the crude oil price and by uncertainty surrounding exchange rate policy in China. However, sentiment... 4th February 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Chart Pack Oil drags commodities lower, but gold shines It was a poor start to the year for commodities with the prices of energy, industrial metals and agricultural commodities all falling owing to persistent concerns about Chinese demand and continued... 1st February 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Outlook Oil to lead a broad-based recovery Despite the rally in the oil market at the end of January, the big picture over the last few months has of course been one of further sharp falls in the prices of most industrial commodities. What's... 1st February 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Further rally in oil price may need stronger foundations This week’s big story has, of course, been the rebound in oil prices (to nearly $35pb) on unconfirmed reports that Russia and OPEC may finally be willing to agree coordinated cuts in output. We are... 29th January 2016 · 1 min read
