Metals Watch Are capex cuts enough to lift PGM prices? Persistently weak prices of platinum group metal (PGMs) have forced the three largest PGM miners in South Africa to undertake deep cuts to their capital expenditure, workforce and cost structure. At... 27th November 2015 · 1 min read
Energy Watch Hopes of Saudi led shift in OPEC policy to be disappointed The next meeting of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), on 4 th December, is set to be much more interesting than the one in June. Indonesia will re-join the group for the... 26th November 2015 · 1 min read
Metals Watch Will lead continue to outperform zinc? While there has been much media coverage of the recent falls in oil and copper prices, the simultaneous slide in the prices of lead and zinc has not been so well documented. In this Metals & Mining... 25th November 2015 · 1 min read
OPEC Watch OPEC’s production falls, led by Iraq OPEC’s oil production fell in October but remains well above target. Global inventories also remained very high. The market will still take some time to return to balance, with prices set to recover... 12th November 2015 · 1 min read
Metals Watch The price of silver to outshine gold in 2016 Silver’s prospects remain closely tied to those of gold, with expectations for US monetary policy the biggest catalyst for changes in prices recently. The upside for silver has also been capped by... 29th October 2015 · 1 min read
Metals Watch What, if anything, can futures curves tell us? While there has been much media coverage of the recent falls in oil and copper prices, the simultaneous slide in the prices of lead and zinc has not been so well documented. In this Metals & Mining... 27th October 2015 · 1 min read
Energy Watch What to watch in the oil market The oil market is inundated with thousands of different statistics regarding production, consumption and trade on a daily basis. In this Energy Watch we pick five figures which we consider to be the... 23rd October 2015 · 1 min read
OPEC Watch OPEC’s oil output rises, but supply elsewhere set to stall OPEC’s oil production rebounded a little last month, but slower growth in non-OPEC supplies and strong growth in demand should still help prices to rise over the next few years. 12th October 2015 · 1 min read
Energy Watch What would a hard landing in China mean for energy commodities? Fears about China’s economy have dominated headlines in recent months and have been the main factor behind the weakness in commodity prices. We have argued in previous publications that most of these... 29th September 2015 · 1 min read
Metals Watch India’s new gold schemes not yet a game changer On 10th September the Indian parliament approved the launch of the Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) and the Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme (SGBS). The GMS and the SGBS have been introduced in an attempt to... 25th September 2015 · 1 min read
OPEC Watch OPEC expects to increase market share OPEC’s oil production appears to have levelled off in the last two months after surging earlier this year. But it will still take years for demand to catch up with supply and the market to rebalance. 15th September 2015 · 1 min read
Metals Watch Will the supply response be sufficient to lift prices? A number of mining companies have recently announced plans to cut output or close mines and smelters in response to low prices. These latest announcements come on top of earlier cost-cutting exercises... 10th September 2015 · 1 min read
Energy Watch Will China become a net-exporter of coal? The depreciation of the Chinese currency alongwith declining consumption and imports of coalhave raised the question of whether China,currently the world’s largest importer of coal, could soon switch... 21st August 2015 · 1 min read
Metals Watch A brighter future for gold prices The price of gold has been undermined this year by the strength of the dollar and rising bond yields as the first hike in US interest rates approaches. Indeed, we continue to expect one more dip from... 21st August 2015 · 1 min read
OPEC Watch OPEC keeps the pumps on full blast Last month’s increase in supply from OPEC adds to the glut of oil already in the market and underlines the cartel’s commitment not to cut output just to support prices in the short term. 11th August 2015 · 1 min read