Industrial Metals Update A strong first quarter for China’s metals imports China’s metals imports remained high in March, reflecting the general optimism about a pick-up in demand. However, recent price rises and signs of stockpiling in China suggest that import growth may... 21st April 2016 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update China’s PGM imports point to strong demand in Q1 China’s imports of palladium and platinum were up strongly in the first quarter as the tax break on small cars and relatively low prices stimulated demand for PGMs in the local market. Looking ahead... 21st April 2016 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Ditching of Chinese subsidies unlikely to rein in exports China’s decision to scrap its export subsidy programme will do little to help overcome huge surpluses of aluminium and steel, or to allay concerns about it dumping excess production on world markets... 20th April 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Investors turn positive on agriculturals again After the combined net-short position in eight of the main agriculturals we cover rose to a record level at the start of March, investor confidence has rebounded. Indeed, a weaker US dollar and more... 20th April 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Prices rebound in April Having wobbled in late March, most commodity prices have rebounded of late. Stronger economic data for March out of China has assuaged some concerns about demand and more than offset the negative... 19th April 2016 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Silver playing catch-up with gold After lagging behind for the past year, the price of silver is finally catching up with that of gold, moving towards our year-end forecast of $19.5 per ounce. Its higher industrial profile, coupled... 19th April 2016 · 1 min read
Energy Update Doha disappoints, but oil market likely to rebalance anyway The failure of Sunday’s meeting in Doha to freeze oil production has further undermined the credibility of OPEC. But it has very little impact on our outlook for supply over the rest of the year. We... 18th April 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Chinese data point to robust commodity demand First-quarter Chinese economic data suggest a cyclical rebound is underway, driven by state-sector spending. The data justify some of the recent strength in commodity prices and underpin our forecast... 15th April 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Support for the price of cocoa should fade later this year The price of cocoa is likely to remain elevated in the near term due to continued supply concerns. But as output returns to normal, we think that the price will fall over the second half of the year. 15th April 2016 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Mine supply to tighten across all precious metals Tightening mine supply is one of several factors behind our positive view on precious metals prices this year. Admittedly, for some metals like gold, mine production represents only a small fraction... 15th April 2016 · 1 min read
Energy Update Deal or no deal in Doha? We think that the risk of the oil market being disappointed by any deal to freeze production in Doha on Sunday is high, given that oil prices have rallied by over 10% in the last week alone. Any deal... 14th April 2016 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Stock movements more related to supply than demand With large divergences in stock movements between individual metals, it is unlikely that industrial demand has been the main driver. Instead, trends in inventories appear to have had a better... 14th April 2016 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Still some way off from sustainable aluminium price rally Global aluminium output fell again in February, according to the International Aluminium Institute (IAI). But smelter restarts in a still over-supplied market could limit the scope for price increases... 13th April 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Glut of grains & soybeans heading into this year’s harvests The USDA’s latest demand and supply estimates continue to provide little evidence of any shortage of global corn, wheat and soybean supplies heading into the 2016/17 season. As such, we think prices... 13th April 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Update A strong quarter for China’s industrial commodity imports China’s commodity import volumes rose in March, rounding off a strong quarter for import demand. However, local stocks have been building, suggesting that we will need to see a pick-up in activity if... 13th April 2016 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update The tin rally is all about supply The price of tin has rallied by more than other metals prices since mid-January. We think this reflects the tight supply picture and low stocks. However, with growth in demand likely to remain subdued... 12th April 2016 · 1 min read
