Precious Metals Update China’s PGM imports point to strong demand in Q1 China’s imports of palladium and platinum were up strongly in the first quarter as the tax break on small cars and relatively low prices stimulated demand for PGMs in the local market. Looking ahead... 21st April 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Prices rebound in April Having wobbled in late March, most commodity prices have rebounded of late. Stronger economic data for March out of China has assuaged some concerns about demand and more than offset the negative... 19th April 2016 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Silver playing catch-up with gold After lagging behind for the past year, the price of silver is finally catching up with that of gold, moving towards our year-end forecast of $19.5 per ounce. Its higher industrial profile, coupled... 19th April 2016 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Mine supply to tighten across all precious metals Tightening mine supply is one of several factors behind our positive view on precious metals prices this year. Admittedly, for some metals like gold, mine production represents only a small fraction... 15th April 2016 · 1 min read
Metals Data Response South Africa’s Mine Production (Feb.) South Africa’s PGM production fell sharply in February for the second consecutive month, suggesting that mining firms are finally cutting output in response to lower prices. Looking ahead, wages are... 14th April 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Update A strong quarter for China’s industrial commodity imports China’s commodity import volumes rose in March, rounding off a strong quarter for import demand. However, local stocks have been building, suggesting that we will need to see a pick-up in activity if... 13th April 2016 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update PMs lose momentum but technical outlook remains positive Expectations that the Fed will hike rates sooner rather than later, coupled with the uncertainty still surrounding China’s economy (although both sentiment and the hard data have improved lately)... 11th April 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Oil prices surge ahead of Doha meeting Commodity prices had a mixed week, despite support from further softness in the US dollar. In particular, key industrial metals dropped back, consistent with our view that the earlier surge was... 8th April 2016 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Gold’s rally far from over Despite last week’s fall in the wake of strong US economic data out, we think that gold’s rally this year is far from being over. In particular, we expect building inflationary pressures in the US to... 8th April 2016 · 1 min read
Metals Data Response World Gold Official Reserves (Feb.) Buying of gold by central banks slowed in February but this appears to be largely due to seasonal factors. The case for gold as a strategic reserve asset remains intact and we expect purchases, mainly... 6th April 2016 · 1 min read
Metals Data Response US silver imports and exports (Jan.) US imports of silver fell in January suggesting that industrial demand was yet to recover. However, more timely data show that low prices have continued to stimulate investor demand for coins... 5th April 2016 · 1 min read
Metals Chart Pack PGMs outperform on improved China prospects Over the past month, the performances of precious metals have diverged. After a strong start to March, the prices of gold and silver fell back as expectations for further monetary tightening in the US... 5th April 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Commodities hit by strong US data and Saudi comments Markets began the second quarter on Friday on a sour note, with sentiment undermined both by a weak Tankan survey in Japan and, rather perversely, by another robust Employment Report and a buoyant ISM... 1st April 2016 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Rhodium price to benefit from tighter fundamentals The price of rhodium is set to recover over the next couple of years as (i) cuts to capital expenditure in South Africa start to take their toll on production and (ii) usage of the metal in... 31st March 2016 · 1 min read
Metals Data Response China and India’s gold imports (Feb.) Gold imports by both China and India remained weak in February. We think this was partly due to the strength of the gold price and partly to temporary factors, notably the Lunar New Year holidays in... 29th March 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Markets pause for a reality check Industrial commodity prices have typically eased back in the past week in sympathy with other assets, as markets have reassessed the outlook for US interest rates and the dollar. In particular,... 24th March 2016 · 1 min read
