Industrial Metals Update Making sense of the rise in exchange stocks Exchange stocks of base metals have risen this year, which usually suggests that markets are well supplied. But much of the recent build in stocks has been opportunistic and driven by financial... 29th June 2021 · 4 mins read
Commodities Weekly Rebound in prices likely to be short-lived Most commodity prices recouped some of their post-FOMC losses this week. Investor concerns surrounding Fed tightening have seemingly eased, which weighed on the dollar. At the same time, news that a... 25th June 2021 · 6 mins read
Metals Data Response Global Steel Production (May) Growth in global steel production is still running high in year-on-year terms owing to the low base a year earlier. However, daily production in May was somewhat lower than April, as output in China... 22nd June 2021 · 2 mins read
Metals Data Response Global Aluminium Production (May) Average daily global aluminium production edged up in May as smelters continued to take advantage of high prevailing prices. We think that production will rise further in the near future. 21st June 2021 · 2 mins read
Industrial Metals Update Lead has its uses, for now Lead demand should bounce back this year, despite the shortage of semiconductor chips which is currently curtailing global vehicle production. However, we think a simultaneous recovery in lead supply... 18th June 2021 · 3 mins read
Commodities Update China’s iron and copper imports to fall further China’s imports of industrial commodities, particularly iron ore and unwrought copper, eased back in May. We expect import volumes of both these commodities to fall further in the coming months as... 7th June 2021 · 2 mins read
Commodities Weekly Oil prices to rise a little further as OPEC+ hold the line In what proved to be one of the shortest OPEC+ meetings ever, the group agreed this week to stick to its previously planned increase in output in July. Oil prices rose sharply on the back of the... 4th June 2021 · 6 mins read
Metals Chart Pack Strong month for metals not a sign of things to come May was a strong month for the prices of most metals, but we suspect that this may be as good as it gets. After all, if we’re right in expecting economic growth in China to slow in the second half of... 3rd June 2021 · 7 mins read
Commodities Chart Pack Most commodity prices to fall back before long Prices generally rose in May, bolstered by signs of recovery in the global economy – led by the US – and stronger commodities demand. While prices could make further gains in the near term, we expect... 2nd June 2021 · 7 mins read
Commodities Weekly OPEC+ to stand pat, for now OPEC+ is set to meet next Tuesday, when we expect the group to agree to continue with its incremental increases in production through to July. We think it unlikely that the group will address the... 28th May 2021 · 6 mins read
Industrial Metals Update Calling time on the rally in US steel prices Limited domestic supply, expensive imports and strong growth in demand have fuelled the rally in US steel prices. But with supply set to improve, at a time of softer growth in demand, prices should... 26th May 2021 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Dependence on Australian iron ore set to decline In the short-run, China has no choice but to grit its teeth and keep buying Australian iron ore, even as bilateral ties continue to fray. But this dependence will diminish over time thanks to... 26th May 2021 · 6 mins read
Industrial Metals Update Fundamentals, not regulation, to drive iron ore lower While China’s announcement that it will crack down on speculation and market irregularities has taken some of the froth out of the iron ore market in recent weeks, we think the price of iron ore will... 26th May 2021 · 3 mins read
Commodities Weekly Signs that price rallies are beginning to falter The prices of most commodities dropped back again this week as global equity markets struggled to make ground and virus cases in parts of Asia continued to rise. Meanwhile, reports emerged that good... 21st May 2021 · 5 mins read
Metals Data Response Global Steel Production (Apr.) Global steel production rose again in April as lower output in India, in particular, was offset by sizeable jumps in production in China, Russia and Brazil. For now, virus-containment measures remain... 21st May 2021 · 2 mins read
Metals Data Response Global Aluminium Production (Apr.) Average daily global aluminium production was unchanged in April, but we continue to expect that output will increase this year given current high prices and premiums. 20th May 2021 · 2 mins read
