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
Commodities Weekly Virus is prompting a rethink of forecasts The prices of almost all commodities plunged this week amid fears that the coronavirus is morphing into a pandemic, with negative implications for global economic activity and commodities demand... 28th February 2020 · 7 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
Commodities Weekly Markets to remain concerned about China’s demand Industrial commodity prices trod water this week as investors struggled to assess the extent of the economic fallout from COVID-19. That said, the lingering sense of uncertainty put wind in the sails... 21st February 2020 · 7 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
Commodities Weekly Sense of calm may not last The prices of most industrial commodity prices rose this week on hopes that the coronavirus is near to its peak and that economic activity in Asia will start to pick up soon. The announcement of... 14th February 2020 · 7 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
Commodities Weekly Virus to remain the main driver of prices Having plunged a week earlier, commodity prices stabilised a little towards the end of this week. That said, until we have a clearer steer on the scale and duration of the coronavirus, it is difficult... 7th February 2020 · 7 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
Commodities Weekly Coronavirus continues to plague commodities Commodity prices lost ground last week, as the rapid spread of the Wuhan coronavirus has dented China’s near-term growth prospects. Indeed, both oil and base metals prices have fallen 10% from their... 31st January 2020 · 7 mins read
Industrial Metals Update Coronavirus could push copper market into surplus The outbreak of coronavirus in China threatens to derail the recovery we were expecting in the price of copper this year. In fact, when our estimate for the potential loss of copper demand is plugged... 31st January 2020 · 3 mins read
Commodities Update Is the coronavirus-led collapse in oil prices justified? Our analysis suggests that it is difficult to square the coronavirus-led sell-off in oil markets with the fundamentals. Instead, we think the move is rooted in a marked deterioration in investor... 29th January 2020 · 3 mins read
