Metals Watch Picking apart the silver price Silver is often described as having a strong price correlation with the business cycle, owing to its numerous industrial applications. Others cite its safe-haven appeal. In this Metals Watch, we... 18th May 2020 · 9 mins read
Metals Watch Are aluminium stocks set for a re-run of the GFC? In this Metals Watch, we take a closer look at whether the global aluminium market is set for a re-run of the global financial crisis (GFC), when a surge in exchange stocks depressed prices for... 6th May 2020 · 6 mins read
Industrial Metals Update China stockpiling is not a long-term solution The incentives offered by China’s provincial governments will artificially boost demand for base metals, especially lead and zinc. As a result, smelters who may have cut supply or shut altogether may... 29th April 2020 · 3 mins read
Metals Outlook The long road to recovery Measures designed to contain the spread of coronavirus have dealt a heavy blow to metals demand. Assuming that these measures are lifted at a global level in the second half of the year, we expect a... 27th April 2020 · 17 mins read
Metals Data Response Global Steel Production (Mar.) Global steel output declined in March in year-on-year terms. And all the signs suggest that worse is yet to come. As we had previously argued, the first global contraction in steel production for five... 22nd April 2020 · 2 mins read
Industrial Metals Update Vale cuts won’t prevent iron ore surplus Vale, the world’s second largest iron ore producer, has cut its iron ore output guidance for 2020 by nearly 30m tonnes. Although significant, we don’t think it will be enough to push the market into a... 20th April 2020 · 3 mins read
Metals Data Response Global Aluminium Production (Mar.) Aluminium output growth slowed last month. But with demand for aluminium collapsing, nothing short of a huge contraction in output will do enough to prevent stocks from piling up. Such a fall in... 20th April 2020 · 2 mins read
Metals Focus A deep dive on supply in the context of COVID-19 It is now crystal clear that virus containment measures will deal an unrivalled blow to metals demand. But the extent to which these same measures may also hit supply is up for debate. Despite all the... 16th April 2020 · 12 mins read
Industrial Metals Update Lower steel production to drag on iron ore prices Iron ore prices have been supported so far this year by China’s steel mills, which have continued to churn out metal. But with demand in China still subdued, and the virus-related disruption yet to... 8th April 2020 · 4 mins read
Metals Chart Pack Metals still staring into the abyss Industrial metals prices plummeted in March. And with the virus-related disruption outside of China yet to peak, we suspect that prices will fall further over the coming months. Even if containment... 2nd April 2020 · 7 mins read
Metals Watch Copper’s “price premium” to grow In this Metals Watch, we introduce our measure of the “fundamental” copper price. A key takeaway is that, while we expect the traded price of copper to recover some lost ground by year-end, there is... 30th March 2020 · 7 mins read
Industrial Metals Update Why supply cuts don’t matter (yet) Several producers outside China have reduced operations in the past week, most notably in Latin America. But much like policy support, lower supply will do little to boost prices so long as measures... 25th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Metals Data Response Global Steel Production (Feb.) Global steel output was reasonably resilient in February. But that follows substantial downward revisions to the January figures. And while policy support – particularly in China – may boost steel... 23rd March 2020 · 2 mins read
Industrial Metals Update Even after this week’s sell-off, the worst is yet to pass Over the last month, industrial metals prices had been holding up on hopes that China’s economy was edging closer to a post-virus recovery. But that all changed this week. With what were once downside... 20th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Metals Data Response Global Aluminium Production (Feb.) Despite alarm bells ringing for global aluminium demand, output growth continued to gather pace in February. This will only have added to the piles of unwanted inventory and is another reason to... 20th March 2020 · 2 mins read
India Chart Pack Virus and Yes Bank debacle dash hopes of recovery It has been a dreadful few weeks for India’s economy. This started with the release of GDP data showing that growth in Q4 slowed to its weakest pace since 2013. And hopes of a near-term recovery have... 19th March 2020 · 10 mins read
