Commodities Weekly Still some way from the bottom Commodity prices tumbled this week, echoing moves in other financial markets. Oil was among the worst performers as Saudi Arabia and Russia announced that they will ramp up output from April, after... 13th March 2020 · 7 mins read
Industrial Metals Update Stock hangover to dampen any recovery in prices Downward revisions to our demand forecasts mean that we now expect all base metal markets to be oversupplied in H1 2020. Lower output should, at best, prevent these surpluses from growing too large... 13th March 2020 · 4 mins read
Metals Chart Pack Don’t rule out further price falls February was another poor month for industrial metals. However, prices fell by less than in January and policy loosening seems to have stabilised prices more recently. That said, the outbreak of COVID... 6th March 2020 · 7 mins read
Industrial Metals Update China stimulus to push iron ore and steel higher The prospect of stronger demand stemming from stimulus in China, alongside recent supply disruptions, means that we now expect the deficit in the iron ore market to deepen this year, rather than... 4th March 2020 · 4 mins read
Commodities Chart Pack Prices still searching for the bottom Commodity prices continued to fall in February as the coronavirus, which started in China, spread to most other regions of the world and sparked fears of a slowdown in global economic activity. We... 4th March 2020 · 8 mins read
Industrial Metals Update Revising our forecasts as COVID-19 effects linger We had previously assumed that any coronavirus-related hit to metals demand in Q1 would be made up in subsequent quarters. But that now seems unlikely. As a result, we are lowering our year-end price... 27th February 2020 · 4 mins read
Metals Data Response Global Steel Production (Jan.) China continued to prop up global steel production growth in January, though output growth in the US and Japan also improved. However, January’s data fail to fully reflect the impact of measures to... 25th February 2020 · 2 mins read
Metals Data Response Global Aluminium Production (Jan.) After falling for the first time in a decade in 2019, global aluminium production started 2020 on a better footing. In contrast to other metals, we don’t think coronavirus containment measures will... 20th February 2020 · 2 mins read
Industrial Metals Update Perception the key to cobalt’s future There is potential for cobalt’s end-use in electric vehicle batteries to grow rapidly. However, concerns over the concentration of cobalt supply in the DRC have held back demand so far. Several auto... 18th February 2020 · 4 mins read
Industrial Metals Update Supply cutbacks in China look increasingly likely Measures to contain the spread of coronavirus in China have already dealt a heavy blow to metals demand. But the longer China’s economy remains part-suspended, the greater the chance that supply is... 13th February 2020 · 3 mins read
Metals Chart Pack Hoping for some better times ahead Signs of a recovery in industrial commodity demand were emerging at the beginning of 2020. Indeed, the economic data have improved and investor concern surrounding the US-China trade war has eased... 6th February 2020 · 7 mins read
Metals Outlook Recovery still base case, but coronavirus big risk A sharp decline in China’s economic growth in Q1 as a result of the coronavirus outbreak now seems certain. This will be a significant negative for metals demand, as China is the world’s single... 5th February 2020 · 18 mins read
Commodities Chart Pack Virus fears to drive prices for some time yet Commodity prices, and energy prices in particular, have been hard hit by the outbreak of coronavirus in China and the prospect of lower global commodities demand. There is still too much uncertainty... 4th February 2020 · 7 mins read
India Chart Pack Populist shift a risk for long-run outlook The citizen amendment bill – which aims to fast-track citizenship for non-Muslims from neighbouring Muslim-majority countries – has dominated the news over the past couple of weeks. This isn’t... 18th December 2019 · 9 mins read
India Chart Pack Services holding up better than industry Q3 GDP data due next week are likely to show a further slowdown in India’s economy, with the industrial sector the main source of weakness. However, some comfort can be taken from the fact that the... 22nd November 2019 · 9 mins read
Metals Data Response Global Steel Production (Jul.) July’s slowdown in steel production was probably a sign of things to come given environmental restrictions, squeezed margins and soft demand in China. Nonetheless, steel prices look set to fall... 27th August 2019 · 3 mins read
