Industrial Metals Update How tight is the cobalt market really? New supply prospects in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could ease the current tightness in the cobalt market. Admittedly, the country’s mine practices are controversial and there is a risk... 6th July 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Some strength at end-Q2 After diverging in May, the official and unofficial June manufacturing PMIs for China told a similar story of somewhat stronger activity in the final month of the quarter. However, the bigger picture... 3rd July 2017 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update How will South Africa’s mining charter affect PGM output? South Africa’s controversial new mining charter will probably exacerbate the decline in the PGM sector. Higher costs, in tandem with lower foreign investment, could weigh on PGM production going... 3rd July 2017 · 1 min read
Energy Update Will US shale continue to flood the oil market? US shale production growth is likely to slow sharply towards the end of the year as the recent low prices cap the number of drilling rigs. What’s more, fewer efficiency gains will start to weigh on... 29th June 2017 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update China Industrial Metals Output Monitor (May) After a strong start to 2017, growth in China’s refinery output appears to be slowing. This corroborates broader activity and investment data, which have lost some momentum going into the second... 28th June 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Low volatility here to stay Volatility in commodity markets is likely to remain lower than average for the next year. The main exception could be the oil market where any change in tack by OPEC would cause sharp moves in prices. 27th June 2017 · 1 min read
Energy Update How low will oil prices go this time? Fears about unrelenting growth in US oil production have pulled down oil prices again, despite stocks beginning to fall. However, faster demand growth combined with OPEC’s production cuts should be... 22nd June 2017 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Is palladium flying too close to the sun? Increased speculative activity appears to have been the main driver of the recent surge in the price of palladium, which reached a sixteen-year high of $910 per ounce on 9th June. However... 21st June 2017 · 1 min read
Energy Update Oil demand to rise after a poor start to the year Global oil demand was disappointing in the first quarter of this year. Indeed, this is one reason why prices have continued to fall despite OPEC and some major non-OPEC producers extending their... 21st June 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Is this the beginning of a commodity downturn? The main commodity indices have edged lower this year but the headline figures mask very diverse underlying price movements. Looking ahead, we think that the macroeconomic backdrop for commodities... 21st June 2017 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Stocks are not painting a clear picture of demand Exchange stocks generally fell over the last month. The bigger picture is that there have been sharp drawdowns in global exchange stocks of aluminium and zinc and a large build in copper inventories... 19th June 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Gold’s luck to run out The price of gold was largely unaffected by the Fed’s decision to raise its policy rate target by 25bp, to between 1.00% and 1.25%, yesterday. While many have attributed the resilience in the gold... 15th June 2017 · 1 min read
Energy Update Is the optimism over coal demand justified? Hotter weather and faster economic growth have led to hopes that demand for coal will rise this year. However, improvements in energy efficiency and the rapid growth in renewable power mean that coal... 15th 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
Commodities Update Negative sentiment weighing on prices It has been a dismal few weeks for commodity prices. Prices have generally fallen amid signs of somewhat slower Chinese growth and concerns about subdued growth in oil demand and still-high stocks... 14th 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
