Industrial Metals Update China Industrial Metals Demand Monitor (Nov.) China’s activity data for November painted a positive picture for metals demand. However, there are signs of a slowdown in the all-important construction sector which, coupled with official efforts to... 14th December 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Oil prices jump on the prospect of output cuts The price of oil rose sharply as oil producers surpassed market expectations by agreeing to cut supply by 1.8m barrels a day from January. Meanwhile, industrial metals prices rose further as investors... 13th December 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Focus on the Fed statement and Trump’s reaction The prices of most industrial metals surged this week, largely due to increased investor interest. Strong China’s imports in November and the prospect of fiscal stimulus in the US further buoyed... 9th December 2016 · 1 min read
Metals Data Response South Africa’s Mine Production (Oct.) A slump in PGM output drove South Africa’s total mine production lower in October, after tentative signs of a recovery in September. While this is not good news for South Africa’s economy, it is... 8th December 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Update China’s commodity imports bounce back China’s commodity import volumes jumped in November, despite markedly higher US dollar prices and a weaker renminbi. Trends in activity suggest that import demand will remain robust in the near-term... 8th December 2016 · 1 min read
Metals Chart Pack Investor enthusiasm buoying the prices of industrials Investors have been encouraged by stronger economic data out of China and the prospect of fiscal stimulus in the US and have significantly increased their exposure to industrial metals. Conversely... 6th December 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly OPEC seal the deal Oil prices surged this week as OPEC surpassed expectations by confirming production cuts and announcing quotas for member countries. Given OPEC’s poor record on compliance, we are sceptical that the... 2nd December 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Chart Pack Markets focus on the Trump positives Following the victory for Donald Trump in the US presidential election, commodity markets chose to focus on his promise of a large fiscal stimulus, including a substantial increase in infrastructure... 1st December 2016 · 1 min read
Metals Watch What’s next for zinc prices? Over the past year, zinc prices have rallied strongly, reaching a nine-year high recently, on the back of mine closures and production cuts. While the refined market will continue to tighten through... 30th November 2016 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Stocks continue to dwindle It has been a quiet month for stock movements, with the exception of copper. However, the drop in LME copper stocks and surge in Shanghai inventories can be largely explained by price arbitrage... 29th November 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Oil market in wait-and-see mode The prices of industrial metals surged again this week, in large part due to investor buying. In contrast, the price of gold fell further as the dollar appreciated and the minutes of the November FOMC... 25th November 2016 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Weakness in China’s metals imports could prove temporary China’s metals imports remained subdued in October as higher dollar prices and some further depreciation of the renminbi weighed on volumes. 25th November 2016 · 1 min read
India Chart Pack Anti-corruption drive has further to run The government’s shock demonetisation announcement earlier this month was its boldest measure yet to tackle corruption and formalise large parts of the shadow economy, but it is unlikely to be the... 24th November 2016 · 1 min read
Metals Data Response Global Steel Production (Oct.) World Steel Association (WSA) data, released this afternoon, show a 3.3% y/y rise in global steel output in October, as higher Asian output more than offset lower production at US steelmakers. After a... 21st November 2016 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update China Industrial Metals Output Monitor (Sep./Oct.) China’s refinery output continued to grow in October, bolstered by rising prices. However, we think producers are overestimating demand, in which case production could fall back in coming months. 21st November 2016 · 1 min read
Metals Data Response Global Aluminium Production (Oct.) According to the International Aluminium Institute (IAI), global primary aluminium output rose by 1.5% y/y in October, boosted by higher y/y production in India, China and Russia. 21st November 2016 · 1 min read
